According to Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Thailand wants to 'reset' tourism and get rid of mass tourism. The country mainly wants to receive the upper class of tourists who are looking for safety.
The pandemic offers an opportunity to reset the industry that had become dependent on Chinese groups and backpackers, he said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
Once the country's borders are reopened and an agreement is reached with safe countries, marketing efforts will focus on wealthier people who want a vacation with minimal risk.
The government will initially allow a small number of arrivals, such as business people and medical tourists. The next step is to target tourists for the luxury resorts on the islands of Phuket, Samui, Phangan and Phi Phi, the minister said. Phuket is a good example because it has all the necessary facilities. Tourists are required to undergo Covid-19 testing before traveling and upon arrival. It must then concern tourists who choose a holiday island and stay there for a minimum period.
These higher class tourists are allowed to move around the island freely and are only allowed to travel to other destinations in Thailand once 14 days have passed. Thailand expects to attract tourists from Europe and America during the November-February winter months, Phiphat said.
The first agreements with safe countries such as Japan and Australia probably won't be ready until August, Phiphat said. Thailand is also considering allowing visitors from specific Chinese cities and provinces, he said.
The goal is for Thailand to reach 10 million foreign arrivals this year — a quarter of its 2019 total — Phiphat said. Total tourism revenues this year are estimated to reach 1,23 trillion baht (US$39,6 billion), down 59% from last year.
The tourism industry will account for about 2020% of gross domestic product in 6, compared to 18% last year, Phiphat said. The lack of travelers is one reason why Thailand's economy is expected to contract by as much as 6% this year.
Phiphat says Thailand sees the crisis as an opportunity to address the problems that existed before the pandemic, such as overcrowded beaches, temples and environmental degradation.
Yes, they are doing well. In the corridors I learned that the Thai embassy has already rented a stand at the millionaires fair in the RAI in Amsterdam. Think it will soon be busy with all those millionaires who come to spend their hard earned money here in Thailand.
All nice plans, but doable?
Well, for the time being as a temporary measure because of the limitation of mass tourism, perhaps, but what will they offer as a solution for the masses of Isan population and Northern Thailand that could previously exist of those masses of tourists, will they be able to employ them all in those expensive resorts ....? A small part yes. but if one aims at an elite as income one must realize that an elite is always a small minority group.
I think that this plan could end up in great dissatisfaction of the Thai masses , with bad consequences . The bucket sometimes overflows!
Think this minister should buy a pocket calculator and use it
Bring the better tourist to Isaan. The Isan has a lot to offer: national parks, the Mekong, unspoiled farm life with water buffaloes in the swamps and special monuments from the rich Khmer period. There are already excellent resorts there that do not focus on mass tourism with bragging, but travelers with interest and respect. Create employment in small-scale and eco-tourism in Isaan, so that young women, especially from the provinces of Buriram and Sisaket, no longer have to go to Pattaya for a humiliating job in the sex industry and have to live there under appalling conditions and have recently been thrown into the gutter by Corona and have fallen into poverty.
It's been a long time since I've seen a buffalo in the village.
I do see a lot of white cows and small machines to plow the land.
Enforceable from the standpoint of a government that looks down on the mob (at home and abroad). It will bother them that the local population can no longer get a share of backpackers and average tourists. They target the wealthy tourist to channel the money flows to Thai investors/wealthy families.
Wonderful plans all, fortunately the expiration date of some governments has already passed.
555. Yes, that "better" tourist will undoubtedly stay in more expensive hotels than the 2 week millionaire. But they have not become so rich for nothing and absolutely do not throw their money over the bar. In contrast to the 2 week millionaire who likes to spend his money on drinks and women and in this way spends much more baht than that "better" tourist. And there are also many "regular" tourists who sponsor the barmaids when they are back in their home country. I don't see that "better" tourist doing that!.
Due to the many corona vicissitudes, there will not be much enthusiasm from the EU and the US in the coming seasons to look for a holiday destination further and beyond the continent's borders. This means that the contingent of Western tourists is already limited.
In addition, Thailand is unable to focus on resorts with more quality and luxury as in the Maldives and the Seychelles, simply because of a shortage of these. Australia has their own Whitsunday Islands, and the US still has Hawaii. Scaling up Phuket, PHI Phi or Samui to that level would take many years in the future.
In the past, Thailand has profiled itself as a cheap backpacking country, with an even cheaper “adults only” image, competing with the all-inclusive offerings of Bali, Alanya and the Spanish Costas.
If Thailand wants to omit all this, it will have to deal with large budget deficits every year.
Many Thai people who had to go home due to Corona a few months ago, yearn to get back to work. There are many and more people directly and indirectly employed in the many industries that surround tourism. Don't forget the huge informal sector that depends on tourism.
Strange that Thailand accepts a decline in GDP, but does not bring up the welfare of informal workers.
But in the end I think it's all a wish and thus father of the thought. Or worse: often a wish is experienced as reality, people live according to it and close their eyes when the consequences become clear.
“Strange that Thailand accepts a decline in GDP, but does not bring up the welfare of informal workers. ” Has the ruling Thai elite never interested one splash, one thread, one whistle.
Higher class tourists??? They will first have to get rid of that image that they have been known for for decades and they will not succeed in that, I fear. The sex industry has always been the biggest source of income (whether illegal or not) and you can't just brush that away for a while. I fear that this is doomed to fail and if it does succeed, the Thai will do something right. Nice weekend….
One thing I can say for sure, the Thais are busy smashing their own windows. That much is certain.
A specific Thai group, I think.
For years, this group did not like the fact that so much money did not end up with them, but in the hands of the plebs.
Hence the idea of Chinese tourists, all the money stays in their own circle, so to speak.
How?
The ancient “Squeeze”.
“better” is that a rich tourist? If they have to rely on the "dirty = unhygienic" Chinese tourists, it will become clean in Thailand! Or the aggressive Russians? I cross my fingers
You forgot to mention the rest of the foreigners here.
Yes of course. Australia! That is also locked in front. Or do they rent a cruise boat?
The so-called better tourist that this government is so eager to bring to Thailand, needs a few other things besides the existing 5-star hotels.
When I spent a week in Pattaya with my family last January, it became clear to me that the air quality is getting worse and worse.
In the afternoon around noon the sun disappeared behind a thick bank of smog, so that I can name a thousand places in this world where it is better to stay because of the air quality.
I have the same, because I usually visit my wife's family in the North for 4 to 5 months, exactly the same.
Months of bad air, and a constant scratching in your throat that I can hardly bear, because we want to visit the family at this time.
A government that wants to attract a better public should urgently address this improvement in air quality first.
In recent years I have the feeling that instead of getting better, this has gotten worse and worse. so that I now come to Chiang Rai for a visit at most during the rainy season from June.
That's already done Pattaya is empty and clean you can go there again with your family.
Wim, I'll just wait for the better tourist.555
Wishful thinking, but far from realistic.
Destroy the economy first, then think it will get better? I fear for no viability of his dream. And certainly not with tourists from China, who hardly spend any money in Thailand, given everything through their travel agencies, travel companies, everything in Chinese hands, so nothing for the people of Thailand.
As long as the population keeps swallowing all this…
They already have a lot of vacant houses and new condos and are just building.
I wonder who then.
Against the wish of the Minister of Tourism to reset, I put my wish that this minister
will reset itself.
Not a bad plan in itself to give tourism a different turn during this period
must have some realism. Once again it appears that the current government has no idea how
the Thai society; the ivory tower content is enormous.
This is going to be a drama!
I remember that the government of the Spanish island of Majorca had the same strange ideas 20 years ago. Unfortunately (for them) little or nothing came of it. Only a few more expensive hotels were added.
And so it will happen in Thailand. So little or nothing will change, because adding hotels is already their daily hobby anyway.
And if the income side of the national budget also gets through to them, then all intentions will soon be a thing of the past.
They will not see this “better tourist” who has been in Thailand since 1980.
It just got VERY EXPENSIVE.
My last holiday (Jan/Feb 2020) was almost twice as expensive as that of 2/2017
In 3 years the costs have almost doubled.
For what I have to pay for a holiday in Thailand, there are much cheaper and better alternatives in the world, not to mention the air quality, dangerous traffic, taxi mafia, etc.
René 23,
So you have been a tourist in Thailand for 20 years and you have actually discovered that living has become more expensive in all those years.
I have no idea what the prices in the pub or GoGo bars are, but I live here the life I do in every country I live in at the time, so I'm not a tourist or pub crawler.
It is normal that prices go up, after all it happens worldwide, why should Thailand lag behind, but Thailand is for me, I say for me a cheap country.
My partner does her shopping on the market, 1 kg of "trial tomatoes" as these tomatoes are called in the Netherlands costs her THB 10, in the Netherlands on the market € 2.99, I saw this on the NOS news the day before yesterday.
Every week we do "farang" purchases at Rimping, Tops, Tesco or Big C, indeed not cheap but I'm used to it. and what I want is not for sale on the market, otherwise I would do it there, it is then the small entrepreneur who makes money and not the well-known Thai billionaire.
For a bottle of reasonable Australian wine I pay THB 310, so € 8.95, at the Hema, I also saw this on the NOS news, you pay € 7,00 for a bottle of rosé, yes cheaper than here but not to say dirt cheap.
For a pork tenderloin here I pay half what I pay in the Netherlands and it is of superior quality and this also applies to a salmon steak and I could go on and on.
In farang country Australia there you pay the main price for your living expenses, electricity and rent of an apartment, I say this from experience.
The Dutch living in France complain that it is so expensive in France, a shopping cart (not
fully loaded) with regular groceries € 200.
So it's not only Thailand that has become more expensive, but I think the problem is with your income, your benefits have not increased, in other words you have less to spend, so don't complain about the prices here but look at your disposable income.
I keep repeating, come to Thailand for vacation as soon as it is possible again, life for the farang is good here because the Thai is happy with you and it is and remains a beautiful country to discover, so I am not talking about only lying on the beach during the day and in the evening to the pub and GoGo bar to be spoiled later for a fee by a Thai(se) (depending on what you like).
Thailand has so much more to offer and then you take the military regime into the bargain, because the farang is not affected by this regime, no, it is the Thai who is severely curtailed by this government.
So come and open your wallet and let the money roll, you will have a nice holiday and the small business owner has earned some money again.
Bye,
Me Yak
.
Yes indeed, I'm just an ordinary Dutch boy, so to speak dude! My parents, my mother Thai and my father, a former KNIL soldier, came to the Netherlands in the early 50s. Actually, this is a different story, but my parents were not well off and we did have food. My father died early, at 65 I went with my mother I was 28! In 1993 to Thailand. What a beautiful country and what wonderful people. My mother still had a small family there and she had a correspondence with her brother all those years, they wrote each other many letters. I also have an average salary and vacation in Thailand is visiting the family and going to the different provinces to see and discover beautiful Thailand. In all my gratitude and humility I say that it is still a wonderful and fascinating country. Just having a nice cup of coffee and something delicious to eat, and meeting the cordiality of the Thai. And yes everything is more expensive and yes everything is becoming more touristy! The great thing is that it remains Authentic Thailand and after 9 humble and polite visits and I go to the 60 years! I think how lucky I am that I got to know Thai culture. With fr gr Bob and no unfortunately I don't speak the language! Because my mother always said I raise you in Dutch culture.
I went to Thailand for the first time last January. After having visited many countries, I noticed that eating out is cheaper than in Gambia, the taxi is also cheaper. In other words, when it has become 3 times more expensive, it is time for them to start looking for a better audience.
Rene23, you generalize and declare your holiday spot the norm for the whole of Thailand.
Air quality: fine in the Isaan, locally you can have bad luck that people burn green waste, but that is not the norm. Dangerous traffic? In NL and BE there are also deaths and injuries. Taxi mafia? Where we have our house is not even a taxi….
A doubling in three years will be due to your spending pattern, the national figures do not show that. You can blame part of the exchange rate, but the rest is really your personal preference.
But, if you don't like it, why don't you go elsewhere?
Do you have your personal AQI station? Now in the rainy season the air quality is more or less good everywhere in Thailand, but in the spring Isaan is not much better than the rest of Thailand. AQI (PM2,5) 200 , 300 or even more this spring (not during a day, but during 2-3 months and not a particle of Isaan but GOOSE Isaan and N, NO and O Thailand!!!) , among the worst countries/regions in the WORLD, only India and China are worse off. Chiang Mai (Not Isaan, I know!!) was even temporarily the WORST city in the world this year! And in terms of road deaths, Thailand is also at the top in the world. Be realistic and look at realistic statistics and don't stick your personal out of the blue numbers on it. Belgium 5,8 – Thailand 32,6 and world 18,2 road deaths per 100.000 inhabitants, which means that the population density is even greater per km2 in Belgium than in Thailand. And then we talk about the official figures. As indicated here before, there are expats who see Thailand as “THE” super country in the world through THEIR eyes, where nothing is really bad. Here is both GOOD and LESS good as all over the world.
The fact that your holiday in Thailand has become almost twice as expensive in 2 years will really depend on your own spending pattern, @rene2. I can assure you that this is absolutely not the case in daily life in Thailand. I keep a fairly close eye on my expenses, and can see that they have barely increased during that period. Fruit and vegetables in the markets have hardly become more expensive, a beer may have risen in price by a few baht, I have been paying the same price for an excellent coffee or a Thai meal for five years, and clothing is still dirt cheap. The rental price of my accommodation has also been the same for years. In short: very far removed from that 'almost 23x'.
Where do you get the information from that everything has become 2 times more expensive in 2 years?
Of course prices are rising a bit but I don't see any extraordinarily large price increases in Thailand.
I've been coming there for 20 years and other than the Thai Baht / Euro ratios, I don't see any particular increases.
And if you know better alternatives then I would say. Have fun elsewhere. No hard feelings
Wonderful otherworldly idea. This will only work if there are no alternatives. However, there are plenty of alternatives in the region, Central and South America, Southern Europe, North Africa etc etc. So if it is made too difficult people just go elsewhere.
The question is not so much who should be let in, but who still wants to come. I think this realization will take some time.
Extensive arrogance. No more
Do you also have a medicine for this syndrome: "delusional megalomania" which seems to be an outbreak in addition to carona.
A waste of time to read this kind of nonsense from this government.
And there are few countries that can only cater to the wealthy tourist.
Yes and don't forget that the Thai is experiencing misery, this government doesn't care, because it is not a democracy.
The "rich" tourist knows where Abraham gets his mustard, you don't have to fool him!
The environment? That's a good thing. They themselves are the biggest polluters in their own country, there's dirt everywhere. Not to mention setting fire to everything that can burn.
A few comments from a person who has been involved in tourism, research and advice in tourism and tourism policy for about 40 years now:
1. making a distinction between rich and less wealthy tourists when it comes to behavior (eg spending) has long been abandoned and nonsense. It's more about lifestyles now. Less rich books also 1st class and some real rich are backpackers;
2. among the really rich you can distinguish between the rich who have become rich in a normal, legal way and rich who don't take the law very seriously. There are many criminals among the rich.
3. most luxury goods are not made in Thailand but imported. Part of the 'a lot' of money goes back abroad where the producer is located;
4. Most tourists, especially the rich, want good quality and value for money. Thailand does not score high in that area. I foresee a lot of complaints from people who are used to better.
5. Spending would stay more in Thailand if tourists bought more local products. However, the quality is usually not good enough for a spoiled tourist
6. A tourism policy that would make more economic sense must be a dialogue between government and industry while retaining their own responsibilities. Many a sector would have to clean house (permits, scams, corruption, payments, safety, maintenance, etc.) before the government helps. But in a purely capitalist society like Thailand, I don't see that happening anytime soon. The business community wants complete freedom and the government is there for law and order.
Looking for security? Then let them loose in everyday traffic. Always good for 60 fatal accidents per day , more than the Covid history so far ,58 , where the government that is "so concerned with the health of the population" does absolutely nothing about it.
Well, we've known for a long time that the current government has been doing its best to make it as difficult as possible for the farang, actually with carona it only accelerated and people use this for this, (NEVER WAIST A GOOD CRISIS) with good courage now even uses revealing language that it should be over with those "dirty farangs". Although they do not realize it themselves, civility is hard to find in (some) Thai politicians. and will also only scare off that wanted "civilized" jet-setter, businessman, footballer, movie star, etc.
It is clear that the long-standing pursuit of that rich and above all "civilized" tourist must and will now happen! So will that work? and what good is it for the working class in Thailand if a handful of jet-setters visit Thailand to play golf? Nothing at all, then, it is a utopian aim of the HISO that does not care one bit about the working-class population.
What also strikes me on the Thailand blog is that it is anxiously quiet with the inveterate thailand defenders who normally always utter cries like "we are guests" and "otherwise go back to your country" but these will soon become their beck and call serves with what they wished opposers and Thai critics 🙂
I myself had already written off Thailand before the carona crisis and I fear that many will now do this, voluntarily or due to new restrictions / rules from the Thai government that will come.
Too bad, it could have all been so beautiful. here are only losers, Thai middle class, Hotels, Hospitality, and freelancers, and we have lost our beloved Thailand.
Time for another government? do not forget that this "jet set plan" is over 40 years old, only this government is pushing it through. You have always been "tolerated" in Thailand because of the income, but certainly not because of your blue eyes, and it seems they now also have a crush on that income.
Have a nice day everyone.
You might like to read this as well
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3064751/has-thailand-had-enough-western-tourists-and-their
Funny you use that article after your tirade. It indicates exactly why Thailand needs the farang less than most think. In that respect, it is indeed a must for all blog readers.
Reading and knowing is also something. I don't think Karelsmit's first story is a tirade at all, but his view of Thailand and his story are quite correct and are not negative, but describe reality. If you think it's a diatribe, you are invited to indicate what is not correct in his story, shouting something about someone else and then not substantiating it is not so nice.
The Westerners are very important as a tourist group, as described they spend USD 125 per day and stay there for 17 days, which brings in a total of USD 2125 as expenditure per person. A Chinese spends USD 193 per day and stays for 8 days, making a total of USD 1544. Yes, the Westerner should be cherished because they spend 38% more and travel more individually and therefore the earnings are spread over a large group of Thais, in contrast to the (mostly) Chinese group tours where the proceeds end up with a select group. And that with a total of 9 million visitors from Western countries compared to China with 10 million visitors. And these 9 million Westerners are more than Japan, India and South Korea combined just to point out the important point.
Nice article but think about where it comes from.
It's an article from the South China Morning Post, from Hong Kong
I have seen enough rude behavior from Chinese people in 5 star hotels in Thailand. As far as I'm concerned, a "better" tourist is someone who behaves neatly and respectfully.
No, Stu, that's not rude, that's just DIFFERENT. And different from what we are used to. According to Tino, there are just as many rude Chinese as rude other foreign tourists. The differences are only gradual.
And what is neat and respectful is different in every country. So: I suggest that tourists who want to visit Thailand first follow a “Do's and don't in Thailand” course in their own country and pass the exam before they are admitted. That diploma must become more important than the passport. You must then load an app so that the Thai authorities know exactly where you are and what you are doing. I am actually pretty sure that every 'better' and 'not-better', but right-thinking tourist will stay away.
Dear Chris, stinging and spitting the result on the hotel lobby floor is no different, that's rude.
Yelling at the staff in a hotel is no different, that is rude.
Yelling at massage parlor staff is no different, that's rude.
And then I don't want to talk about the habit of cramming as many people as possible into an elevator when a maximum number of people is clearly prescribed.
You may think otherwise, I think it's downright rude.
And yes, these are just my personal experiences, but they are enough to steer clear of groups of Chinese.
That doesn't justify the misbehavior of others, but to me they are pigs.
Chris, there are of course many other misbehaving tourists (although most of them are not in 5* hotels), but the Chinese are a special group. Tour guides of Chinese tour groups in Le Meridien, Chiang Mai, are required to bring 50.000 baht in cash as a deposit for damage to rooms and loss of income (they are normally only there for two or three days). Only Chinese (source: manager). Why only Chinese?
PS: Just to be clear: I have nothing against the Chinese. I think it's a good thing that they can explore the world these days. Once I can attribute spitting on a marble floor in a lobby as “cultural difference,” my travels will be less frustrating. So get used to it.
And what do you think of the language? The better tourist wants to be able to converse properly in English. In many Asian countries they speak decent English, except in Thailand. And phrases like “yes we don't have” won't get you very far either
Better attract tourist ok than :
Beaches clean, water clean, garbage everywhere gone, stray dogs gone, streets repaired, sidewalks wider than 40cm, traffic safer, scams gone, sex industry elsewhere, decent boulevards without traffic, pedestrian areas, parks, not loud music everywhere , service level up sharply, food safety, flexibility with service, underground cables, and general street image to 1st world level instead of somewhere between 2nd and 3rd world, and all in hotels at level. And then maybe, maybe some will come.
I enjoy living here, but as a tourist with a higher budget, Thailand wouldn't even be in the top 10 destinations on my list.
What will happen to all those older foreigners who have been lured to Thailand to enjoy their well-earned retirement here, many have married Thai nationals and started a family, invested their savings for the purchase of a car, motorbike and property, etc. …many in the name of their partner. Currently, we foreigners, married or not officially living here based on the immigration laws in force here, deregistered in their own countries, can leave the country but cannot enter at the moment, your Thai partner can…have we not Asian white foreigners really become a target ???
In every ethnic group, whatever their race, there are always those who cannot keep their manners and come to Thailand to do what they cannot do in their respective countries of origin. Bringing the elite tourists to Thailand is certainly not a solution, Chinese and others who stay in 5 star hotels and resorts certainly do not always adhere to the customs. Fortunately, there are many Thais who believe that ordinary tourists are still welcome here.
That Thailand is targeting a different kind of tourist is not new, but that it has been elevated to an official government position is new to me.
Having stayed in a hotel in Chiang Mai two or three times, I belong to the mass tourism group and therefore no longer welcome in the new situation.
I couldn't find an email address for the embassy or consulate in the Netherlands and I ended up at the OFFICE NATIONAL DU TOURISME DE THAILANDE in France.
In polite terms, I explained that I am white-hot at this intention of the Thai government. I don't want to withhold the response I got from you.
Also, please ignore the Thai minister's previous announcement. There must be a mistake in the translation or in the wording. Thailand will not welcome only the millionaires. This attitude of exclusivity and discrimination by wealth is deeply inhumane, backward and distasteful. It is unthinkable that a minister (or someone in that position) can utter such a thing, intentionally. Generally, some politicians' coarse remarks do not represent the whole population's opinion, but only their sick minds. ”
I have decided to look for another holiday destination.
Have the government officials been in Dubai?….So soon the Tourist Police in Ferraries. An island in the shape of a temple near Puket. And then build elsewhere on these exclusive islands…..Dutch Dredgers…go design something….there is money to be made…and of course the biggest world criminals can find shelter there.
Thailand needs to continue like this, then there will be no more tourists. I have now spent 4 months there 3 years in a row, but they no longer see me. The people cannot be trusted. They say "yes" but they do "no"
Whoever loses here is Thailand. Who here
Wins are all countries in the region.
Myanmar.laos.cambodia.vietnam
Etc.
It's a great plan. From now on, they simply have to require you to prove upon arrival that you have a net annual income of > € 100.000, for example. If you cannot do that, you will be refused entry to Thailand.
This excludes the klootjes tourism (backpackers, drink and sex tourists and Jan Modaal).
The annoying thing about such a requirement is that those in post-corona tourism certainly do not feel like providing information about their income. So that “better” tourist stays away.
But I understand that people will first build (even) more resorts and then see if the better tourists really book 2-3 weeks.
Anyway: because the bastard tourists mentioned in the first paragraph keep coming, nothing will change at all post-corona.
Nor will the farang pensioners be subjected to more stringent financial requirements. After all, planning and looking ahead are not the best developed qualities of the Thai.
Do I just have to explain to my Thai wife that we can no longer visit her family in Thailand because we are not rich enough.
Also stop sending money to the family because that is no longer possible, we don't even have enough money to enter Thailand.