About beautiful tourist figures and the harsh reality
Anyone who looks at the annual figures on the number of tourists from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) may no longer dare to visit Thailand because you can walk over the heads. Reality seems more unruly, but numbers don't lie, do they?
During my tour through Thailand, one thing struck me in particular: where are all those alleged tourists? I didn't see them. What I did see was empty hotels, empty bars, empty beaches, empty shops and empty restaurants. Especially Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Koh Samui took the cake. In Pattaya and Bangkok it was a bit busier, although it was also quieter there than usual. Of course I know that the high season only starts in November and that this month is all about the cremation of Rama 9, but still.
The conversations I had with some expats confirmed my impression. Inbound tourism in Thailand seems to be in quite a slump.
You only occasionally see the millions of Chinese who visit Thailand walking on the street behind a flag. A restaurant owner shouldn't have it either.
Despite the nice (polished?) figures of the TAT, I am concerned. It seems more and more that Western tourists no longer put Thailand at the top of their destination list.
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and a lover of good music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
My motto: "Don't worry too much, others will do that for you."
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'Anyone who looks at the annual figures on the number of tourists from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) may no longer dare to go to Thailand because you can walk over your heads. Reality seems more unruly, but numbers don't lie, do they?'
Those numbers don't lie, they just don't tell the whole truth. A message at the time from the Dutch Embassy about tourism in Thailand said that the average length of stay of all those millions of tourists is only three days. These figures also include, for example, all day-trippers from Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia.
So I suspect that the number of visitors to Thailand (are they all 'tourists'?) is increasing, but that the length of stay has decreased. On average one day less stay and the number of 'tourists' present in Thailand falls by 33 percent.
It is undeniably true at the moment that tourism is experiencing a slump. For the people who depend on this, it is quite a loss. The sight of many empty bars with prostitutes pleases me, there could be less of the street scene. The beaches are also a lot less manned. The causes are diverse and broadly known, I thought. As far as traffic is concerned, it is a lot quieter and there are far fewer buses with Chinese people, etc. I like this because it was very busy a while ago and many traffic jams as a result. I now speak for the Pattaya area. How it is in other places, others know more about it. I recently went to Buriram and Sangkhla buri and the roads were passable with little traffic except for occasional points where there is always a traffic jam. Few tourists may be seen in the places in question. And as already stated, it is not yet the winter period when the crowds will increase.
I can endorse Peter's story in its entirety. I was in Pattaya last month. The timing of my vacation was a miss. Really disastrous, what a poverty in the nightlife.
You could shoot a cannonball on the boulevard, you wouldn't hit anyone.
On the beach of Pattaya you look at the many speedboats on the one hand and you hear the traffic noise on the beach road on the other. You don't have a beach holiday here, do you? Jomtien, on the other hand, invests heavily in infrastructure, but where are the tourists?
In contrast to about five years ago, you only see Chinese, Indians and Koreans. I didn't know there
as many Chinese on a single speedboat. The number of Westerners is declining considerably. At my
I had three seats available on the outward and return flight, while there are now only 10 instead of 17 flights
a week direct flights to Bangkok. I feel sorry for the Thai. A major renovation is underway
place but who starts this? After all, they have no alternative but to hope for better times.
High season is approaching, but this period is also getting shorter…..
What is more interesting for Thailand is that more Asians are coming in. And these are often people with a preference for brands, shopping and food. And these aren't exactly beach bums either. So I think it is beneficial for the economy, the increase in the number of tourists, especially from Asia. I think the big attraction is Bangkok with the many department stores and personally I notice that more and more tourists from Asia are walking around in hotels and shopping malls.
But don't really know for sure until the tourists put more money into it
let yourself be informed by research and the TAT occasionally publishes statements with expenditure per tourist and per country. All in all, I think that tourism is increasing, but that it has moved to Bangkok.
Almost never see buses with Chinese people in our area.
Fashion Island is a big shopping mall, but never see them.
Same with Mega Bangna.
At one restaurant near us. Chocolateville.
Every evening there are 25-30 large buses, all with Chinese people.
For the restaurant it will not matter which guests come, but you will never see us and many Thai people there again.
Bert :::Almost never see buses with Chinese people in our area.
Bert ::At one restaurant near us. Chocolateville.
…… Every evening there are 25-30 large buses, all with Chinese people.
They are there but you don't see them???
For the restaurant it will not matter which guests come, but you will never see us and many Thai people there again.
It's for the restaurant turnover, but if you have them inside they are pigs though
Travel organizations are also seeing a decline in interest in Thailand, I recently read.
source: https://www.destentor.nl/reizen/indonesie-stoot-thailand-van-de-troon-als-populairste-bestemming-in-azie~ad7b9ccd/
Maybe because of the prices ??
Thailand had a reputation for being cheap, but that has been and never will be again.
My wife and all her friends say that they can better buy clothes in NL than in TH.
Except for the clearance / sale, then TH is cheaper.
Always blaming the prices is too easy.
If you talk about family holidays with a beach destination, Thailand is still cheap, when you eat in small local restaurants it is not expensive either.
But if with a beach holiday you are constantly told what is not allowed on the beach and what must be done.
And if you have to look for a place where there is not too much waste, the fun is soon over and people look for a country where they are welcome.
It doesn't matter to the Thai government if the European families stay away.
They probably sail blindly on the figures of the TAT.
There are probably few officials who realize that you should not only look at the numbers of tourists, but also at how long each tourist stays in the country.
And they probably also prefer the Chinese, because they come and leave again.
Those Europeans also want to come and live here and then also start to complain about everything that is wrong in Thailand.
It also does not seem that the Thai population is waiting for those annoying tourists and certainly not the Thai government. At least one day a week no beach chairs, the rest of the week there are chairs and if you have reached them by the streets dumped with rubbish and the smelly sidewalk due to the overflowing rubbish containers you are threatened with a fine of 100000 Baht if you dare to smoke. When you walk down the street at night you become deaf from the immense noise from the bars while the ladies don't even see you walking because they are too busy with their mobile phones. If you want to use the phone yourself, you must first buy a SIM card where you will be treated as a criminal because they must have a copy of your passport. I can go on and on, but let's be honest: we are not so great with the Thai smile stimulated to go on holiday in Thailand.
I agree with you for the most part, but not with the SIM card. Go buy a prepaid card in many countries in Europe, you also have to register. And what's wrong with that? Once you bought a ticket in Budapest, you received so many documents that you had a book. And so there are a lot of countries.
Another advantage is that you will receive a new ticket in case of loss
In Cambodia, anyone who wants to buy a SIM card must also register it.
Isn't one of the reasons why the authorities, in their infinite wisdom, decided not to allow beds and umbrellas on the beaches anymore?
Let's hope that this measure will be lifted soon, then the tourists, like us, will come back.
Well, maybe the Thai can put their hand in their own bosom!
Thailand is the land of smiles!
They only smile when they think you have a fat wallet!
Here and there you hear that friendly Thailand is becoming more aggressive and violent!
Prices are getting higher!
Tickets have become more expensive in recent years, especially with the direct flights of KLM and EVA Air.
Westerners experience the many accidents on the road as threatening, how can you travel safely?!
The military in power with their rules that are not tourist friendly.
Is Thailand really that free, as it has been known for years as a backpacker's paradise?
I can imagine that more people choose Indonesia.
But I still like to come to Thailand!
Despite the list of all the negative things, there are also many positive things!
But I can imagine that people who want to go for the first time and are orientating themselves on the web wonder if it will be the right travel destination!
The Western tourist is gradually being replaced by the Asian, in particular the Chinese. And they don't go to bars, nor are they on the beach. They go shopping at markets and department stores. And get back on the plane with bags full of branded goods that they resell in their own country. So the audience and the spending amount of that audience has changed. Hence the great success of a Kingpower. There is also an increase in the wealthy Asian tourist who comes to stay in 5 star hotels while the ladies go shopping in the exclusive shopping centers such as Gayrson, Central Chidlom and Emquarter/Emporium.
In short, more money is now being earned from tourists than before, but no longer through the bars, and ladies of the night, beach restaurants and food stalls.
We will wait the coming months before we make a final decision whether we will go to Koh Samui again. In our opinion, it might become restless in Thailand after the ceremony next Thursday. But hopefully we're getting that all wrong. We are also concerned about how expensive the hand has become. Well, we'll wait and see and keep an eye on this blog.
I see tourism declining more and more in recent years and then I talk about Hua Hin indeed empty hotels and apartment buildings, you can also see the decline on the beach. The advantage is that the Thai now have to provide better service to get customers before it was them. come anyway now it comes to the real service.
Don't worry though. The average length of stay is around 10 days.
In Pattaya, of course, people complain about the low number of customers in the bars, but that is the same story every year during the low season. The Wonderful2 crowds index suffered somewhat in August/September due to some sporting events at odd times (for example, it was remarkably quiet the rest of the day after the boxing match in the morning) and the number of showers also caused occasional dips, resulting in in an approximately 10% lower index than in previous years. There will also be people who prefer to wait for the end of the mourning period. And as said, the turnover is never very high in those months, so 10% of little is no drama.
The open beer bars are the most eye-catching, and they are hit the hardest and most visibly by the relatively lower number of Western tourists, in any case, apart from 'online dating', which is not conducive to this industry either. Bars (English, German, Scandinavian) aimed specifically at Western target groups are having a relatively difficult time. You see less Asian tourists hanging at a bar. Should you start a Dutch bar? Not even 1 in 150 tourists is Dutch. But if you then dive into the gogos, it will be bursting with Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, etc. You then wonder: How will that be done in the high season? Where do we put them all?
You don't often see Asians invading a cheap restaurant with 'international' (read: Western) cuisine. They are neatly dropped off by buses at, for example, the Oishi Japanese Buffet Restaurant in Pattaya Avenue, where they not only play 'all you can eat', but also hold an 'all you can drink' competition. When they have hoisted each other back into the bus after a few hours, you will no longer see them on the street.
And then you have the areas where it has become much busier, such as the Arab Quarter in Pattaya. We don't like that, so we don't get there, so it escapes our perception.
The domestic tourists, they don't eat at a food stall or street restaurant. They have that at home too. They wait in line at the weekend until they can sit down at one of the hundreds of tables in the Hopf Brew House zum Beispiel. The average Van der Valk is a modest bistro. If you've never been inside, you walk past it carelessly, you don't notice it, but it's booming business.
Koh Larn was an idyllic oasis about ten years ago. Things seem to have changed there too.
The Western tourist will become much less important, that is for sure, but the TAT will be concerned about where the trade comes from, and they are right.
I heard from Thai friends that quite a few restaurants and bars are being offered for sale again
Hua Hin and Cha Am.
Always a sign that turnover is not flourishing this year (understatement)
Cor Verkerk
I think it's fine if there is still room on the beach for a walk or if I find a table in a restaurant to join and at breakfast in the morning in some hotel, annoying for the owners if it is less but for the holidaymaker it seems relaxed if it is.
I myself stay in Bangkok, but if I go out for a few days with my wife, unfortunately more Thai people do the same and then it can be just a bit busier.
Lucky for the patrons, right?
Thailand is no longer so exotic for many travelers, look around how many people have ever been there.
The Philippines Cambodia and Vietnam and Laos and Myanmar sound a lot more exotic to many people and there is less mass tourism.
Add expensive Thai prices in recent years on top of that + too many BRICS tourists and there go the Westerners…
for a holiday of 4 weeks you can go to Thailand. If you want to stay longer, you will really get into trouble. An extension or a visa is more difficult. That is really the reason for me not to visit Thailand anymore.
Dear Marianne, what is so difficult about a 60-day visa? 8 weeks is not a problem right?
You can also cross the border for a while. Can you stay another month. You can probably take a look at the paradise where you go next time.
For those four weeks you don't have to do anything in advance and you don't have to pay anything. Anyway, for a little holiday maker, once or twice four weeks is of course not worth it. The simple vacationer's life is not a bed of roses. I'll just put this in the box of luxury problems for now.
An extension of 30 days is really not difficult, marianne. Can be arranged quickly at any immigration office.
Well, Thailand is one of the few countries where you can stay for a month without a visa. And buying a tourist visa is not a disaster either. There are so many countries where you need to buy a visa. Even from day one. I don't see a problem right now. And you can even stay a month longer with a trip to the neighbors. So this reasoning makes no sense at all
Perhaps the holidaymakers are fed up with the crowds and are spreading across the country! I have a small B & B in Sichon and mainly Thais come to spend their holidays there, beautiful beaches, clean ocean and a beautiful environment for day trips, which I show my guests. Service comes first for me! Sichon has many small good restaurants. Sichon has a large port where fresh fish is delivered every day. Sichon has a very large market on Sunday morning where all restaurateurs from the surrounding area come to buy their fresh fish, meat and vegetables, definitely worth a visit! But you need to know all this! It is 32 km from Koi Samui on the mainland!
Bed & Breakfast To-Co
Sichon District
Nakhon Si Thammarat province also has an airport
How could that be, you should try to find a thai restaurant in sukhumvit between soi 5 and soi 21, everything is taken over by indians, pakistani, kebab and so on, well i go to thailand to eat good food, not to to eat kebab, And everything has been so dirty lately, in Phuket it was very dirty on the street. Think I will go to other countries in the area in the future………