Thailand will be Thailand. I’m by no means an expert concerning Thailand, but I do know one thing for sure during my travels there and keeping up with government announcements, and that is what they say they want to do one day will not be the same thing they say they want to do the next. I think sometimes that they just want to portray to the world that they are a luxury destination, which in some parts (small portion) of the country they are, but in the majority parts of the country they are not.

In my opinion the dual pricing system is what it is. Seriously, how many times can you go visit the same zoo or the same temple that charges anyway? I don’t believe it will ever effect the deals you can get online for hotel stays or any of the other necessities you will need while there.

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 8:51 am

Cowshed Cowboy wrote:

truffledog wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 3:28 pm

Cowshed Cowboy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:37 am If I was in Thailand's shoes, given the state of the industry and the current rising cost of living worldwide especially travel related, I'd be at pains public relations wise to sell the country positively rather than what seems to be happening at the moment.

Thailand needs to stay competitive or people visit Laos, Vietnam or Bali instead to name a few alternatives only. With news of blatant discrimination of highly desired foreign tourists you surely dont help to mantain a positive image. Discrimination is a very bad tool.

Vietnam will be the interesting one to follow in the coming few years.

People have been saying "let's see what Vietnam does" for decades. It never does anything interesting, and very few tourists return to Vietnam. Thailand keeps shooting itself in the foot, but the local competition isn't exactly stellar at attracting tourists. I don't mind the dual pricing either, if only it were tied to residency vs nationality (especially when these countries make getting nationality virtually impossible).

I've only had positive reports from my friends that have been in recent years, they were doing golf with a bit of sightseeing. I was due to go for a look/see just as Covid broke out so that got cancelled unfortunately. They've gone from 8 million to 18 million tourists in the 4 years up to 2019 which is pretty impressive growth.

Cowshed Cowboy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 9:19 am

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 8:51 am

Cowshed Cowboy wrote:

truffledog wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 3:28 pm

Cowshed Cowboy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:37 am If I was in Thailand's shoes, given the state of the industry and the current rising cost of living worldwide especially travel related, I'd be at pains public relations wise to sell the country positively rather than what seems to be happening at the moment.

Thailand needs to stay competitive or people visit Laos, Vietnam or Bali instead to name a few alternatives only. With news of blatant discrimination of highly desired foreign tourists you surely dont help to mantain a positive image. Discrimination is a very bad tool.

Vietnam will be the interesting one to follow in the coming few years.

People have been saying "let's see what Vietnam does" for decades. It never does anything interesting, and very few tourists return to Vietnam. Thailand keeps shooting itself in the foot, but the local competition isn't exactly stellar at attracting tourists. I don't mind the dual pricing either, if only it were tied to residency vs nationality (especially when these countries make getting nationality virtually impossible).

I've only had positive reports from my friends that have been in recent years, they were doing golf with a bit of sightseeing. I was due to go for a look/see just as Covid broke out so that got cancelled unfortunately. They've gone from 8 million to 18 million tourists in the 4 years up to 2019 which is pretty impressive growth.

Good growth, but the issue with Vietnam has always been the return rate. Up until recently, Vietnam only got a 6% returnee rate vs Thailand's 60%. Yes, you read that right. The main issue with Vietnam was always... the Vietnamese. My first trip there 13 years ago was a horrible experience, with people left and right trying to price gouge me or cheat me in some way. It was truly rampant. Aggressive sellers blocking your way and grabbing your arm, cyclo getting shouty and demanding more money after arriving at destination for a pre-agreed price, street fruit sellers... It was a truly shocking experience coming from Cambodia, where everyone was genuinely smiling and laid back. I vowed never to return despite being a short flight or bus ride away. Then five years later, I went back and it was a better experience. I've seen returned a few times (not that often) and things have admittedly gotten way better. Still, imagine you'd flown halfway around the world and get a horrible reception like that, wouldn't make you want to return, and you'd tell all your friends about it too! Thailand, for all its faults, has more to attract tourists, even though locals aren't in the "tourists are great" honeymoon stage anymore. I can still see why people go there though. It's become a famous destination. That being said, you're right that with increasing restrictions in Thailand and the general attitude of the government and locals towards tourists, a lot of long-termers and tourists are eyeing Vietnam. Same for tourists.

The industry telling the government yet again they know nothing about market economics. There seems to be a massive disconnect between this govt and not only its people but also the private tourism sector.

About 20 years ago I played golf at a place called Rancho Charnvee, resplendent with its own private airstrip. In the clubhouse after I got chatting to a very personable elderly Thai gentlement. I asked whether the place was owned by one of the big breweries only to be told it was a guy who had made his billions through government construction contracts.

Only recently did I realise who it was. Anutin.

There are individuals who rave about Vietnam, and myself having never been there, do they have the ability, do they have the infrastructure, to accommodate 40 million tourists a year? Also, it’s one thing to cross the border by land, but can their airports handle that kind of traffic?

Return visitors to any county, why would you want to see the same attractions again and again, the reason Thailand has so many return visitors is the resorts beaches are cheap and of course mongering.
As for double pricing many countries do it and good on them IMO

Kenr wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 8:35 pm There are individuals who rave about Vietnam, and myself having never been there, do they have the ability, do they have the infrastructure, to accommodate 40 million tourists a year? Also, it’s one thing to cross the border by land, but can their airports handle that kind of traffic?

Can you please elaborate on what they rave about? VN is not really a popular country. It's cheap with a few scenic places. They had 18 million tourist arrivals in 2019 but mostly other Asians (Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, etc.) looking fo somewhere cheap, warm and safe.

Anyway, they're quite focused on infrastructure but for industry, not tourism, except for maybe domestic tourism with a population of nearly 100 million.