Thread: TAT: Plan to Win Back Tourists

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TAT says sorry




found this on BP and I think its worth a post here.

Originally Posted by English Noodles

Originally Posted by plorf

Well so far no tourists even got the promised 2000 Bht right ?

Thousands did, I met a fair few personaly. It was in the form of coupons for accomodation and meals at the hotel.

I got it, I was in a bar in Pattaya and saw it on the TV. It was in Thai off course.
I saw 2000-baht and a phone No. I asked the bar girl what it said, she told me, if I'm stranded in Thailand I could get 2000Baht per day. and to phone the No. I did and asked them to speak in english. They told me to go to the Sunbeam hotel on Soi 8. which I think is a 4 star hotel. They asked to see my passport and my flight ticket. I stayed there for three day with three meals per day untill I got a flight out. all free of charge!!

Originally Posted by watterinja

The regular visa runners must be a tonic for the tourist statistics then.

You would probably be surprised about how many long termers here (farang) welcome many friends and family to Thailand and on a yearly bases.

Even the visa runners normally have up to 10 friends/ family visiting them every year and quite possibly these visitors wouldn't come here and if there wasn't the connection.

By toughening up visa laws will only push the tourist industry deeper into the mire but hey they are used to shooting themselves in the foot.

Everyone talks about the problems in Thailand that are affecting the tourist industry. It must be remembered that there is a world wide recession happening at the moment and alot of people are cutting back on what they are spending, especially famillies, because they are unsure what is still to come in the future. Add to this that the Thai Baht hasn't followed the majority of currencies, such as the Stirling, instead propping itself up against the USD, and now you have a tourist destination that is 30% more expensive than it was 6 months ago.

I think Thailand is gonig to have tourist problems for a while to come yet.

Originally Posted by MeMock

What a disgraceful headline. "Travel bookings to Bangkok fall to almost zero in last fortnight"

I arrived at Swampy on Singapore Airlines out of Changi and the flight was less than half full.

The passengers were mostly Thai, with a few farang (mostly business travellers) and from what I can gather next to no Chinese.

I have taken this afternoon flight regularly over the past couple of years and this was the first time it wasn't full.

It will be interesting to see how badly this former resilient tourist destination is going to handle this man made disaster.

Never mind, there's always next year.

Originally Posted by skidley

It must be remembered that there is a world wide recession happening at the moment and alot of people are cutting back on what they are spending

The TAT should take on this very real global happening and use the fact that holidays are so cheap here and to promote Thailand.

You will find that people will still need to have their annual holidays and if the government can allow the Baht to blow out about 10% against the greenback potential tourists will look towards Thailand quite possibly as their only holiday destination.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

The TAT should take on this very real global happening and use the fact that holidays are so cheap here

With the Baht at 23 to the A$ and 52 to the GBP they're not cheap any more.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

You will find that people will still need to have their annual holidays and if the government can allow the Baht to blow out about 10% against the greenback potential tourists will look towards Thailand quite possibly as their only holiday destination.

Europeans and Americans have so much more diverse choice and so much more better value, especially now hotels in the US and Europe are slashing prices that is never going to be the case for the majority of holidaymakers from those two markets.

Thailand needs something new and fast.

The tired old "traditional" dancing has worn thin and means absolutely f**k all now and everyone, including the Thais, know it.

They should be honest about their tourism. It's boring now. Big time.

Originally Posted by thehighlander959

I think value for money Thailand is quite expensive, especially considering the value of the baht at present. There are a lot cheaper places in Europe Bulgaria, Turkey etc. where the cost of a holiday is still very reasonable.
If you are into mongering I am sure that in Bulgaria, Rumania and to an extent Turkey and the Black Sea resorts there are Russian/Ukrainian and local females who will play the game to the best of their limited ability.
Thailand isn,t the only option. Its up to you

Try Zimbabwe, but first a bit of background...in 1997 the exchange rate to the US$ was Z$10.50c. Over the next decade it increased steadily, and was revalued in 2006 by lopping off a few zeros for the '2nd' Z$, at 250 to the US$.

A year later, in Sept 2007 the '2nd' Z$ stood at Z$30,000 to US$1, and if you think that's steep, the black market rate was Z$600,000, or 20x the official rate. At that time, official inflation was given at 6,000%, though private estimates ran as high as 20,000%.

7 months later, by April 2008 inflation was 165,000%, officially, and two months later with diluted pretence it hit over 10,000,000%, officially, with the black market still keeping well ahead of the low official rate.

4 months later, on 1 Aug 2008, ten zeros were removed from the currency, reducing Z$10,000,000,000 to one new (3rd) Z$.

As of yesterday, 4 months later, US$1 would buy you 114,000 (or 140,000??) new Z$ in a bank, or 25,000,000 on the street.


So if you want value, go to Zimbabwe, where everyone's a billionaire.



That was the Z$500,000,000 note, first printed in May 2008, which ought to buy you a decent breakfast, if you eat it fast enough.




10,000,000 to 15,000,000 of the 3rd Z$ will get you a small pack of knom, or a large one for a mere 50,000,000...




A bunch of greens could be yours for as little as Z$5,000,000...




and Z$6,000,000,000 will get you a whole pile of eggs...



...so investing in your personal chicken is well advised, if you have extra billions to spare.




If you're eating out whilst waiting for your chicken to start laying...



...go well prepared.




Your monthly salary will look like...



this, and even kids are billionaires many times over.




If you feel real extravagant and turn up at the local bureau de change with something silly like US$100, the money will not be counted...weighing should be close enough with the odd few hundred million here and there balancing out in the end.




So, think yourself lucky...this guy's off for a short time.

Originally Posted by thehighlander959

I think value for money Thailand is quite expensive, especially considering the value of the baht at present. There are a lot cheaper places in Europe Bulgaria, Turkey etc. where the cost of a holiday is still very reasonable.
If you are into mongering I am sure that in Bulgaria, Rumania and to an extent Turkey and the Black Sea resorts there are Russian/Ukrainian and local females who will play the game to the best of their limited ability.
Thailand isn,t the only option. Its up to you

I agree totally its not cheap any more if your a UK mongerer at the present exchange rate a 300 baht BF plus 1,000 for the night from your average Bar girl is going to set you back just over twenty five quid .

When I first came here in 1994 the exchange rate was 43 baht to the pound 200 baht BF and all night for a Bar girl 500baht max total cost then just over 16 quid

I remember the bar girls pushing the price to 1,000 a night when the baht went to 90+ to the pound , " ah but you have big money now " was there story !

Now were down to almost 50 that should be our line now , so heres 600 baht takt it or leave it !!!

Wow, what do the girls look like (sarcasm)

^Younger

On a good note, I think a lot of newbies to Thailand will be lost - no more annoying newbies....LOL