Thailand tourism situation

[HHTel]

'Mini slump'! Who defined that one?

[usual suspect]

Last Sunday lunchtime I took the dragon (Mrs U.S.) down to Dolphin Bay to attend a meeting..I drove up to the far end, then once I'd dropped her off, I cruised back along the seaside road...Nearly every restaurant was closed, Shops too, & I did not see one Farang or any Asian tourist groups...The place was almost in a state of shut-down.

[laphanphon]

Well it's definitely 'off' season, so apparently people / tourist are paying attention to the weather and advice on forums, or simply doing their research.

Dead down here at PKK municipality, but very rough seas, and of course the heavy rains and even flooding a bit further down the road.

One would expect less tourist. Surely not the same for CM, Krung Thep, Phuket / Andaman Sea side of things.

Chinese still in hissy fit mode, so 10 % off, and a big chunk. Would think other Asian tourist are still coming, and that's all that matters. Since they're the ones that spend the money.

EU, exchange rate and economic times being a factor, possibly, but minimal impact on tourism revenues. A few less coming, that don't spend nearly as much as their Asian counter parts, so no major loss.

[Blacky]

Down here Krabi area and Phuket is busy with mostly western tourists and Indians. One can definitely tell that there are less Chinese around, especially the budget hotels/resort (2-3 stars) feel it. High season kicks in a bit earlier down south, though the real mayhem will start a few days before Christmas, same as Hua Hin.

Cheers,
B.

[Takiap]

I really hope the country's tourism industry does as is hoped for, but the authorities really need to take a good look at themselves. It was only a short while ago that we read headlines about an immigration official announcing that a certain "group" of people shouldn't come here. Perhaps it was poor reporting, but how many people will have read that article and not looked any further into the matter?

In the list shown in this thread concerning countries with fewer citizens coming to visit, I see African countries are mentioned. Is it really surprising? Not only have many of these people read the recent headlines, but if/when they do visit, at least via a land border crossing, they are blatantly discriminated against.

I myself have been subject to such discrimination on two occasions when entering Thailand via the Malaysian border simply because I have a passport issued by an African country. People from countries outside of Africa sail through immigration, while I got herded off for interrogation, and then informed that unless I could show them that I had 20K on me, I was not coming in. Fortunately, a lady immigration officer allowed me to go through to acquire an ATM slip on the Thai side of the border.

Did any of the officials show even the slightest bit of interest in the fact that I have been here for nearly 20 years, and that I am a single dad of three kids, all of whom are Thai citizens? Absolutely not.

A bit off topic I know, but seriously, if you are going to discriminate against a particular continent, at least try to be a tiny bit discreet. Oh, I'm sorry, I nearly forgot that Africa is just one big country.

I should of course add that apart from those two instances at the immigration office on the Malaysian border, and apart from one very difficult experience with one particular female at Hua-Hin immigration several years ago, I have always found immigration officials in Thailand to be very pleasant, and I would imagine that most tourists will feel the same way.

[PeteC]

Phuket today mid-morning, the Laguna area. Wife down there for a marathon today. She says except for the race people the place is empty of tourists. She went to the "old city" to eat last night and the same report.

[StevePIraq]

Could it be that Thailand simply relies far to much on tourism and does not/ has not diversified it's economy enough.

Thailand does have other export driven industries, vehicles, rice, electronic manufacturing etc. but maybe they are just not big enough.

[HHTel]

Back in 2002, tourism accounted for 4% of GDP. By 2013 it was up to 9%. Reported figure for 2016 was 17.7%. It was estimated then to have a value of 2.53 trillion baht.

They obviously backed an outsider which has come up favourite.

[HHTel]

Back in 2002, tourism accounted for 4% of GDP. By 2013 it was up to 9%. Reported figure for 2016 was 17.7%. It was estimated then to have a value of 2.53 trillion baht.

They obviously backed an outsider which has come up favourite.

Of course as it's in percentage terms, other income may have fallen back which accounts for the increase percentage of GDP!

[HHTel]

Ooops! I meant to edit and instead quoted.

[T.O.M.]

https://knoema.com/atlas/Thailand/topic ... ism-to-GDP

[Nereus]

Maybe Pot is already legal for some of these people:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Tourism Council predicts 40.3m arrivals for 2019

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ne ... 9#cxrecs_s

The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) predicts international arrivals to Thailand will increase to 40.3 million in 2019, mainly because of lowered visa barriers.

TCT president Chairat Trirattanajarasporn said the growth rate for foreign arrivals will be 5.5% next year, based on a projection of 38.5 million arrivals this year.

The council also projects tourism receipts from international markets will rise from an estimated 2 trillion baht this year to 2.29 trillion next year.

Major factors driving the growth include the exemption of visa-on-arrival (VOA) fees that were endorsed on Nov 15 this year, running until Jan 13, 2019.

Other visa initiatives being planned by the private sector and the government are multiple-entry visas and extending the VOA fee exemption until April, Mr Chairat said.

Other conditions include the increase of budget airlines and the expectation of more political stability in the country. Thailand is scheduled to hold a general election on Feb 24, 2019.

Despite a favourable environment, Mr Chairat said Thai tourism is still reliant on external factors, notably global economic tensions and the trade row between the US and China.

The council also forecasts foreign arrivals next year will be from India, Vietnam, Russia and Taiwan.
Although China will remain the biggest source of tourism, the growth rate from the mainland may not be as strong as in past years.

He said Thailand needs to improve land transport, especially in second-tier provinces in order to facilitate tourists.
Moreover, there should be plans to enhance tourism standards and services, said Mr Chairat.

Meanwhile, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said competition in the global tourism market is robust and many other countries have been working to use tourism to drive secondary markets.

The Thai tourism industry is expected to face some difficulty in 2019 from the trade war between the US and China, increasing interest rates, and soaring fuel jet prices, he said. These factors would force tourists to cut their travel plans and lower consumption, especially on luxury items.

For local tourism, Mr Yuthasak expects Thais will make 179 million trips in 2019, up from an estimated 167 million trips this year.

Tourism revenue from domestic markets will increase from 1 trillion baht this year to 1.18 trillion in 2019, up about 10% year-on-year, he said.

Of the number, TAT expects local tourists to make 20.1 million trips to northern provinces, 28 million trips to the Northeast, 90 million trips to central provinces, 17.7 million trips to the East, and 22.8 million trips to the South.

Mr Yuthasak said the TAT will continue promoting domestic tourism through various campaigns, including the "Go for More" campaign that was launched yesterday.

Under this campaign, each region will highlight their attractions to attract visitors to their provinces.

[handdrummer]

I don"t know why the election is expected to increase the political stability? Has that happened before?

[buksida]

Just spent some time in Kanchanaburi, another tourist town, and it was very quiet. Worst year ever some bar owners were saying.

My question has always been ... Where TF are these 110,000 daily arrivals going?

[usual suspect]

This week I've been told by quite a few regular high-season visitors that they've never seen Binta & Soi 80 so quiet..The bar-girls are so eager to get you in the bar..They are not making a living, the bar-owner will be losing out too, & the rent will still go up each time the contract ends..Small beers in Soi 80 are around 55/60b, where as downtown the figure is 80-100b The Binta-Block may well slowly close due to lack of trade..