News Forum - Plans shot down for property incentives to attract foreigners

[Marc26]

12 minutes ago, Vince said:

Not on topic and also racist victim blaming. Just because you pretend to be American doesn't mean you have carte blanche to say anti-Americanism is justified. 

Let's discuss in AOD --> https://thethaiger.com/talk/forum/137-all-other-discussion/

 

How did I "claim to be American "?

I'm American......

That was plainly obvious in my post

 

And I didn't say anything anti-American

I stated that Americans have a reputation, and they do

 

Races have reputations and a lot of times, for valid reasons 

[Vince]

7 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

How did I "claim to be American "?

I'm American......

That was plainly obvious in my post

And I didn't say anything anti-American

I stated that Americans have a reputation, and they do

Races have reputations and a lot of times, for valid reasons 

@Marc26 please follow up in AOD

[Cathat]

chinese people have been residing in thailand for centuries now and have not over run the place.

Most people here particularly city dwellers almost certainly do buissness with them on a daily basis.

you have even had them as prime minister's.

Anybody who lives here and has a problem with ethnic chinese is in the wrong part of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Vince]

46 minutes ago, Cathat said:

chinese people have been residing in thailand for centuries now and have not over run the place.

Most people here particularly city dwellers almost certainly do buissness with them on a daily basis.

you have even had them as prime minister's.

Anybody who lives here and has a problem with ethnic chinese is in the wrong part of the world.

Indeed. But the problems of scale and real estate speculation, etc. are still real, without the xenophobic comments. 

10 million+ Russian or Chinese or British or Estonian or Burmese tourists, land speculators, taxi drivers, computer programmers, etc will have an impact. 

Maybe good, maybe not. Maybe both?

(One Chinese PM was Tony Woodsome, right?). 

[Cathat]

I don't see the problem with land ownership/speculation.

If you don't want somebody to buy something don't offer to sell it to them at a price they are prepared to pay, nationality has nothing to do with it,it's a straight buissness transaction.

Its not as if they can take it with them if they decide to leave.

And yes him and his cute sister is of course who I was referring too.

[Golfer]

Re buying in Thailand. A friend once said, don't put any money into Thailand that you are not prepared to lose. This is my experience of buying a holiday home in Thailand, our compound is full of for sale signs, not a single one has sold after initial purchase. Okay we enjoy our house and Thailand, but wonder with ever increasing visa health insurance requirements just how it will pan out as we get older. 

There are plenty to rent, tread carefully if buying, the markets are saturated and it is hard to get rid of later on, also Thais like to buy new as far as I understand. 

This is just my experience. A lot of fun, no regrets, but sound investment it is not. 

[Marc26]

4 hours ago, Golfer said:

Re buying in Thailand. A friend once said, don't put any money into Thailand that you are not prepared to lose. This is my experience of buying a holiday home in Thailand, our compound is full of for sale signs, not a single one has sold after initial purchase. Okay we enjoy our house and Thailand, but wonder with ever increasing visa health insurance requirements just how it will pan out as we get older. 

There are plenty to rent, tread carefully if buying, the markets are saturated and it is hard to get rid of later on, also Thais like to buy new as far as I understand. 

This is just my experience. A lot of fun, no regrets, but sound investment it is not. 

Funny enough worrying about resale of a house in Thailand has made me decide to likely purchase a more expensive place than I originally planned

 

We decided to buy a house in BKK area

Not a huge house, in the 3-4mil range

 

But none of them was a house I'd really want to spend a lot of time in

It was really a family house for my MIL, my stepson to live in after University 

 

But then I worry about any resale or resale value 

 

And thinking I'm better off buying a house I want to spend time in 

 

So would have to buy a more expensive place that I will be happy living in the future 

[Vince]

19 hours ago, Cathat said:

I don't see the problem with land ownership/speculation.

If you don't want somebody to buy something don't offer to sell it to them at a price they are prepared to pay, nationality has nothing to do with it,it's a straight buissness transaction.

Its not as if they can take it with them if they decide to leave.

And yes him and his cute sister is of course who I was referring too.

Absentee ownership is a problem when it drives up housing and makes home ownership impossible. See "San Francisco" for an example.

You are thinking of occupant ownership to foreign owners. 

That condo being rented in Ari, is owned by a foreigner possibly living somewhere else.

[Cathat]

1 hour ago, Vince said:

Absentee ownership is a problem when it drives up housing and makes home ownership impossible. See "San Francisco" for an example.

You are thinking of occupant ownership to foreign owners. 

That condo being rented in Ari, is owned by a foreigner possibly living somewhere else.

Thats capatalism at work.

I'm aware of the problems it causes but that is the way it is at this time.

Unless there is a major forced global change in the distribution of wealth i don't see any reason why the rich won't continue to get much richer and the poor fighting over a few scraps will continue to increase in numbers.

I see the world's wealthiest have doubled their wealth during the pandemic!

[Vince]

Just now, Cathat said:

Thats capatalism at work.

Yes, good point. But some countries don't play ball and restrict foreign ownership. 

 

Just now, Cathat said:

I'm aware of the problems it causes but that is the way it is at this time.

Unless there is a major forced global change in the distribution of wealth i don't see any reason why the rich won't continue to get much richer and the poor fighting over a few scraps will continue to increase in numbers.

 

Yes, the Marxists have been so far slightly off in their predictions of the inevitable march of socialism. I'm sure it was some minor maths error. 

 

 

Just now, Cathat said:

I see the world's wealthiest have doubled their wealth during the pandemic!

Yes. That's capitalism. 

 

[Cabra]

There is a difference between real estate investors (owners of multiple properties) and private ownership (owners of single family homes and condos). Unless private ownership comes with a matching non-cancelable visa for the duration of ownership, seems like more risk than it's worth. As far as investors go, sovereign governments needs to control foreign ownership and speculation, else the actual citizens will suffer from rising prices. Owning one rai of land (other than coastal land - and the days of cheap costal land are gone) where there is an anemic secondary market is not something that interests most people anyway, and if you are interested in such land you are probably married, so just put it in your wife's name.

[Soidog]

On 1/22/2022 at 11:47 PM, Noble_Design said:

You can refer to my comment here:

I'll give you an example for you to ponder about. Imagine if in any news or article there is one person (or a few) who keeps on harping about caucasians or white people being gross because they are the majority race that visits entertainment areas targeted at foreigners. How would the other caucasians/white people who are not into those things feel?

I agree with your example. However, there are people on this forum who do exactly as you say. They are allowed to continue with their vile and obsessive comments almost on a daily basis and rarely, if ever called out.  

[Soidog]

18 hours ago, Golfer said:

Re buying in Thailand. A friend once said, don't put any money into Thailand that you are not prepared to lose. This is my experience of buying a holiday home in Thailand, our compound is full of for sale signs, not a single one has sold after initial purchase. Okay we enjoy our house and Thailand, but wonder with ever increasing visa health insurance requirements just how it will pan out as we get older. 

There are plenty to rent, tread carefully if buying, the markets are saturated and it is hard to get rid of later on, also Thais like to buy new as far as I understand. 

This is just my experience. A lot of fun, no regrets, but sound investment it is not. 

100% spot on remarks. Unless you plan to live permanently in your house for at least 20 years, or have a reason to buy for someone to leave to after you die, then don’t buy. 
 

Across the country (outside of Bangkok) the average price of a decent home is 4 million baht. The average cost to rent such a place is say 15,000 baht per month. This means you can rent for 22years before you have spent the 4 million. Buying also means you are locked in to staying in the same place. What feels like a great place when you arrive, can be boring and wrong for you after a couple of years. 

[Henry]

As I see things:

A wealthy person being targeted by current political discussions is unlikely to be looking at a property which would appeal to the vast majority of native Thai buyers. What’s the average monthly wage in Thailand? Thb 15,000, Thb 20,000, Thb 25,000?

If you take Thb 25,000 as an average wage that equates to around $US 10,000 per year. I might be wrong with the salary if so please feel free to chip in.

The minimum property investment required for a long term visa has been muted at $300,000 or 30 times that average wage. So I would suggest there is little clash between foreign and native buyers. 
 

A foreigner married to a Thai partner is generally going to come into the category of wealthy average Thai rather than wealthy in the context of the wealth visa. A figure of $1,000,000 minimum worldwide assets has been kicked around. 

With that in mind there’s  a danger that foreign husbands (or wives) buy property that’s neither one thing nor another. A very expensive “normal” home but not a “dream” property likely to appeal to your foreign millionaire. I’m having a casual look around and unless I can see the sea, enjoy my own private swimming pool and be situated in an established tourist hot spot Province I’m not interested. I suspect I will have to spend a fair chunk more than the minimum investment threshold so I’m even less likely to stop a native Thai family from buying their home.

At the moment a lack of ability to properly own the freehold means Thailand is off the cards. I have no interest in forming shell companies, employing native Thai people to act as puppet directors or marry someone from Isan regardless of how pretty they are, how hard working or how well they cook. Having my balls cut off by the current Mrs Henry is simply not a price worth paying…… :-)

Thailand has natural assets that can be used to it’s advantage. It’s a beautiful place, the sun shines quite a lot, the food is pretty decent and for the most part it’s not expensive when compared to places like London, New York or the South of France. Dubai has invented it’s self and created trillions of dollars without having a single natural asset. They’ve made some islands with dredged sand, Phang Nga Bay is real as are the tropical forests that surround it. Thailand makes Dubai look like a dusty car park.

For decades Thailand has been seen as the backpackers paradise, it’s time to move on and upscale things a bit bringing more money into the country as you go and raising the incomes of normal Thai families along the way without ruining the ethos and DNA of the place.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Henry

[Soidog]

4 hours ago, Henry said:

As I see things:

A wealthy person being targeted by current political discussions is unlikely to be looking at a property which would appeal to the vast majority of native Thai buyers. What’s the average monthly wage in Thailand? Thb 15,000, Thb 20,000, Thb 25,000?

If you take Thb 25,000 as an average wage that equates to around $US 10,000 per year. I might be wrong with the salary if so please feel free to chip in.

The minimum property investment required for a long term visa has been muted at $300,000 or 30 times that average wage. So I would suggest there is little clash between foreign and native buyers. 
 

A foreigner married to a Thai partner is generally going to come into the category of wealthy average Thai rather than wealthy in the context of the wealth visa. A figure of $1,000,000 minimum worldwide assets has been kicked around. 

With that in mind there’s  a danger that foreign husbands (or wives) buy property that’s neither one thing nor another. A very expensive “normal” home but not a “dream” property likely to appeal to your foreign millionaire. I’m having a casual look around and unless I can see the sea, enjoy my own private swimming pool and be situated in an established tourist hot spot Province I’m not interested. I suspect I will have to spend a fair chunk more than the minimum investment threshold so I’m even less likely to stop a native Thai family from buying their home.

At the moment a lack of ability to properly own the freehold means Thailand is off the cards. I have no interest in forming shell companies, employing native Thai people to act as puppet directors or marry someone from Isan regardless of how pretty they are, how hard working or how well they cook. Having my balls cut off by the current Mrs Henry is simply not a price worth paying…… :-)

Thailand has natural assets that can be used to it’s advantage. It’s a beautiful place, the sun shines quite a lot, the food is pretty decent and for the most part it’s not expensive when compared to places like London, New York or the South of France. Dubai has invented it’s self and created trillions of dollars without having a single natural asset. They’ve made some islands with dredged sand, Phang Nga Bay is real as are the tropical forests that surround it. Thailand makes Dubai look like a dusty car park.

For decades Thailand has been seen as the backpackers paradise, it’s time to move on and upscale things a bit bringing more money into the country as you go and raising the incomes of normal Thai families along the way without ruining the ethos and DNA of the place.

A great post there @Henry I totally agree with the comments relating to upscaling things. The problem with that however is that it requires large foreign investment. Dubai had the money to reinvent itself whereas Thailand doesn’t. Dubai also recognised the need to attract  expertise and management skills from outside of the country, Thailand just can’t bring itself to do that and doesn’t have the education system to grow its own quick enough. 
 

As you rightly say, Thailand has all of the natural assets to achieve a better life for all. It’s just that those in charge already have a life that most of us can only dream of and hence they just don’t feel the need to change anything. Change could upset what they have so why risk it. 

Thailand of course will continue to grow and improve. It is a much better place to live than in the 1960’s or 70’s. However, so has everywhere else in the world. Thailand is improving, it’s just not catching up. 

[Marc26]

4 hours ago, Henry said:

As I see things:

A wealthy person being targeted by current political discussions is unlikely to be looking at a property which would appeal to the vast majority of native Thai buyers. What’s the average monthly wage in Thailand? Thb 15,000, Thb 20,000, Thb 25,000?

If you take Thb 25,000 as an average wage that equates to around $US 10,000 per year. I might be wrong with the salary if so please feel free to chip in.

The minimum property investment required for a long term visa has been muted at $300,000 or 30 times that average wage. So I would suggest there is little clash between foreign and native buyers. 
 

A foreigner married to a Thai partner is generally going to come into the category of wealthy average Thai rather than wealthy in the context of the wealth visa. A figure of $1,000,000 minimum worldwide assets has been kicked around. 

With that in mind there’s  a danger that foreign husbands (or wives) buy property that’s neither one thing nor another. A very expensive “normal” home but not a “dream” property likely to appeal to your foreign millionaire. I’m having a casual look around and unless I can see the sea, enjoy my own private swimming pool and be situated in an established tourist hot spot Province I’m not interested. I suspect I will have to spend a fair chunk more than the minimum investment threshold so I’m even less likely to stop a native Thai family from buying their home.

At the moment a lack of ability to properly own the freehold means Thailand is off the cards. I have no interest in forming shell companies, employing native Thai people to act as puppet directors or marry someone from Isan regardless of how pretty they are, how hard working or how well they cook. Having my balls cut off by the current Mrs Henry is simply not a price worth paying…… :-)

Thailand has natural assets that can be used to it’s advantage. It’s a beautiful place, the sun shines quite a lot, the food is pretty decent and for the most part it’s not expensive when compared to places like London, New York or the South of France. Dubai has invented it’s self and created trillions of dollars without having a single natural asset. They’ve made some islands with dredged sand, Phang Nga Bay is real as are the tropical forests that surround it. Thailand makes Dubai look like a dusty car park.

For decades Thailand has been seen as the backpackers paradise, it’s time to move on and upscale things a bit bringing more money into the country as you go and raising the incomes of normal Thai families along the way without ruining the ethos and DNA of the place.

So what would you envision upscaling things would look like?

 

I am someone who likes things a bit more upscale and I think Thailand already has plenty to offer 

 

Resorts 

Restaurants 

Lounges 

 

But I certainly wouldn't want it to become sterile either 

 

I think it misses the boat in some ways, development wise

 

But I also think it has the perfect mix

 

Stay in the Shangri-la 

Eat noodles on the street outside the hotel for breakfast

Have an amazing dinner at their upscale Italian restaurant for dinner 

 

 

 

[Henry]

When I mentioned Dubai I was afraid people would think over developed sterile and vulgar. We’ve just had a 3 part series on the BBC showcasing Dubai which left you feeling physically ill.

My point was more that from nothing they have created something. Thailand already has something special so it should be easy to generate income without re-inventing the wheel. I take your point that the people at the top have a pretty good life and don’t want to upset the apple cart.

My vision is to allow foreign ownership of property that wouldn’t ordinarily be owned by native Thai people much along the lines of what’s being proposed. In 2019 Suvarnabhumi Airport saw 295,000 international flight movements. If you took just 3 or those flights and filled them with people prepared to spend $1 million on a nice property you’ve raised a billion dollars. There’s some tax - we all know the Kingdom isn’t averse to taxing Farang at a higher rate than natives, labour to build, materials, staff, service industries from food to maintenance, horticulture and so on.

Then there’s also the knock on effect of attracting other high net worth individuals to visit. Even millionaires aren’t averse to renting out their villas when not being used. Luxury boats are hideously under represented in Thailand compared to the Mediterranean and the irony is boating is nigh on perfect. Once again boats support a huge infrastructure of supporting skilled trades.

I love cycling or driving to a beach and grabbing a simple Thai lunch, I also love finer dining and everything in between. What frustrates me is seeing Thai businesses failing to attract the foreign tourist dollar because the country is insular and doesn’t allow foreign investment / influence. In many cases it is only a few simple changes. There’s a reason people cram into Starbucks or McDonalds and ignore more local options which feed money directly into the community.

I helped out a small guest house in Krabi a few years ago taking photos for them and writing the content for their website. I was on an extended holiday and a bit bored. The result is a thriving business and I enjoyed the mother of all family home cooked feasts for my troubles. They just needed a bit of steering to understand what a foreign person was looking for when choosing accommodation.

You might argue that businesses seem to be doing OK so why change, the problem is they are attracting a particular element who almost seeks out hardship to try and discover the “real’ or “backpack” Thailand. They only want to spend $20 per night. Why not embrace people happy to spend $500 a night like other places? Don’t totally ignore the bread and butter visitors but you would be surprised how much ordinary holiday makers are prepared to spend if they feel it’s value for money. Thailand is fantastic at offering affordable luxury, promote that.

By allowing long term visas and people to work there’s a trickle down effect. Successful wealthy people naturally help local people and businesses. I did and it was just a short holiday.Active semi retired people want to dabble, to keep their hand in but thankfully because they are a bit longer in the tooth they no longer want to do the hard graft themselves so employ people on good wages.

I know that I will always be a foreigner. I know that the people in charge will always be in charge of me and it’s their country. I know that if my money runs out not to expect a hand out. I paid my taxes in my home country and so it’s down to them to look after me not Thailand but so long as I live by the rules and pay my way it’s a win win.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Henry

[Marc26]

15 hours ago, Henry said:

When I mentioned Dubai I was afraid people would think over developed sterile and vulgar. We’ve just had a 3 part series on the BBC showcasing Dubai which left you feeling physically ill.

My point was more that from nothing they have created something. Thailand already has something special so it should be easy to generate income without re-inventing the wheel. I take your point that the people at the top have a pretty good life and don’t want to upset the apple cart.

My vision is to allow foreign ownership of property that wouldn’t ordinarily be owned by native Thai people much along the lines of what’s being proposed. In 2019 Suvarnabhumi Airport saw 295,000 international flight movements. If you took just 3 or those flights and filled them with people prepared to spend $1 million on a nice property you’ve raised a billion dollars. There’s some tax - we all know the Kingdom isn’t averse to taxing Farang at a higher rate than natives, labour to build, materials, staff, service industries from food to maintenance, horticulture and so on.

Then there’s also the knock on effect of attracting other high net worth individuals to visit. Even millionaires aren’t averse to renting out their villas when not being used. Luxury boats are hideously under represented in Thailand compared to the Mediterranean and the irony is boating is nigh on perfect. Once again boats support a huge infrastructure of supporting skilled trades.

I love cycling or driving to a beach and grabbing a simple Thai lunch, I also love finer dining and everything in between. What frustrates me is seeing Thai businesses failing to attract the foreign tourist dollar because the country is insular and doesn’t allow foreign investment / influence. In many cases it is only a few simple changes. There’s a reason people cram into Starbucks or McDonalds and ignore more local options which feed money directly into the community.

I helped out a small guest house in Krabi a few years ago taking photos for them and writing the content for their website. I was on an extended holiday and a bit bored. The result is a thriving business and I enjoyed the mother of all family home cooked feasts for my troubles. They just needed a bit of steering to understand what a foreign person was looking for when choosing accommodation.

You might argue that businesses seem to be doing OK so why change, the problem is they are attracting a particular element who almost seeks out hardship to try and discover the “real’ or “backpack” Thailand. They only want to spend $20 per night. Why not embrace people happy to spend $500 a night like other places? Don’t totally ignore the bread and butter visitors but you would be surprised how much ordinary holiday makers are prepared to spend if they feel it’s value for money. Thailand is fantastic at offering affordable luxury, promote that.

By allowing long term visas and people to work there’s a trickle down effect. Successful wealthy people naturally help local people and businesses. I did and it was just a short holiday.Active semi retired people want to dabble, to keep their hand in but thankfully because they are a bit longer in the tooth they no longer want to do the hard graft themselves so employ people on good wages.

I know that I will always be a foreigner. I know that the people in charge will always be in charge of me and it’s their country. I know that if my money runs out not to expect a hand out. I paid my taxes in my home country and so it’s down to them to look after me not Thailand but so long as I live by the rules and pay my way it’s a win win.

I don't know

 

I think Thailand already gets all the higher end visitors that are available to them 

 

I know a lot of people in finance in Hong Kong and Thailand is #1 on their vacation destinations, for the most part

 

There are tons of true 5 star hotels in Bangkok and the islands

And before Covid, those places are fairly busy

 

When in Bangkok, we mostly eat dinner at 5 start hotels and they are always suitably busy 

 

So I don't really know what else can be done to attract more higher end tourists 

You have to remember that Thailand is very far trip for some, so they will never get those people

 

I think the one idea you gave that could tap into a new group is building up the boating community 

[Marc26]

15 hours ago, Henry said:

When I mentioned Dubai I was afraid people would think over developed sterile and vulgar. We’ve just had a 3 part series on the BBC showcasing Dubai which left you feeling physically ill.

My point was more that from nothing they have created something. Thailand already has something special so it should be easy to generate income without re-inventing the wheel. I take your point that the people at the top have a pretty good life and don’t want to upset the apple cart.

My vision is to allow foreign ownership of property that wouldn’t ordinarily be owned by native Thai people much along the lines of what’s being proposed. In 2019 Suvarnabhumi Airport saw 295,000 international flight movements. If you took just 3 or those flights and filled them with people prepared to spend $1 million on a nice property you’ve raised a billion dollars. There’s some tax - we all know the Kingdom isn’t averse to taxing Farang at a higher rate than natives, labour to build, materials, staff, service industries from food to maintenance, horticulture and so on.

Then there’s also the knock on effect of attracting other high net worth individuals to visit. Even millionaires aren’t averse to renting out their villas when not being used. Luxury boats are hideously under represented in Thailand compared to the Mediterranean and the irony is boating is nigh on perfect. Once again boats support a huge infrastructure of supporting skilled trades.

I love cycling or driving to a beach and grabbing a simple Thai lunch, I also love finer dining and everything in between. What frustrates me is seeing Thai businesses failing to attract the foreign tourist dollar because the country is insular and doesn’t allow foreign investment / influence. In many cases it is only a few simple changes. There’s a reason people cram into Starbucks or McDonalds and ignore more local options which feed money directly into the community.

I helped out a small guest house in Krabi a few years ago taking photos for them and writing the content for their website. I was on an extended holiday and a bit bored. The result is a thriving business and I enjoyed the mother of all family home cooked feasts for my troubles. They just needed a bit of steering to understand what a foreign person was looking for when choosing accommodation.

You might argue that businesses seem to be doing OK so why change, the problem is they are attracting a particular element who almost seeks out hardship to try and discover the “real’ or “backpack” Thailand. They only want to spend $20 per night. Why not embrace people happy to spend $500 a night like other places? Don’t totally ignore the bread and butter visitors but you would be surprised how much ordinary holiday makers are prepared to spend if they feel it’s value for money. Thailand is fantastic at offering affordable luxury, promote that.

By allowing long term visas and people to work there’s a trickle down effect. Successful wealthy people naturally help local people and businesses. I did and it was just a short holiday.Active semi retired people want to dabble, to keep their hand in but thankfully because they are a bit longer in the tooth they no longer want to do the hard graft themselves so employ people on good wages.

I know that I will always be a foreigner. I know that the people in charge will always be in charge of me and it’s their country. I know that if my money runs out not to expect a hand out. I paid my taxes in my home country and so it’s down to them to look after me not Thailand but so long as I live by the rules and pay my way it’s a win win.

One other thing I think that Thailand severely lacks that places in the Mediterranean have that attract higher end tourists

 

Thailand does not have a very good beach nightlife 

 

If you think of all those places in the Mediterranean they have great restaurants and beach clubs right on the beach

 

With the exception of some here and there, that type of beach nightlife is severely lacking in Thailand 

[Henry]

Do you think there’s a discrepancy between Bangkok and the rest of the country?

As you say BKK is awash with up market accommodation and dining, in fact it’s famous as a place for people to enjoy a 6 star lifestyle. It’s a lot cheaper than Europe but people are still spending a lot more than “backpacker” rates. When we stay in the capital we tend to get a suite at the Shangri La and venture out from there.

Down south Phuket and Krabi do have more upmarket accommodation options but the bulk of tourists tend to be attracted to and by the cheap & cheerful sector. Lorry loads of early morning punters getting herded from their budget accommodation onto boats where they are crammed in like sardines for a trip to the islands. Nights spent downing discount drinks with other production line cattle.

When I share my love of Krabi for instance it saddens me when people say oh yeah, I’ve been there, we stayed in Ao Nang. So near yet so far, they made the 12 hour flight only to miss the real Krabi by 5 or 10km.

Here’s the thing though and the bit which fills me with hope. If we can raise the game a bit real Thai people can benefit. Rather than cram tourists into lorries for a trip to the islands have them step onto the beach from their resort and enjoy a private long tail experience directly with an owner operator who benefits financially. Those boat men (and the odd woman) are out there now but they are drowned in a cut price battle with the mass market.

Spend a bit more money and have a genuinely amazing experience. At the moment Thai suppliers just cater for what they think the tourists want and there’s a vicious circle of bargain hunting tourists arriving by the plane load to be herded and sold the same 2 dozen T-shirts from hundreds of stalls.

[Faz]

Off topic posts removed.
What does your favourite resort, beaches and massage parlours have to do with the topic 

Open a separate topic please.

[Marc26]

7 hours ago, Henry said:

Do you think there’s a discrepancy between Bangkok and the rest of the country?

As you say BKK is awash with up market accommodation and dining, in fact it’s famous as a place for people to enjoy a 6 star lifestyle. It’s a lot cheaper than Europe but people are still spending a lot more than “backpacker” rates. When we stay in the capital we tend to get a suite at the Shangri La and venture out from there.

Down south Phuket and Krabi do have more upmarket accommodation options but the bulk of tourists tend to be attracted to and by the cheap & cheerful sector. Lorry loads of early morning punters getting herded from their budget accommodation onto boats where they are crammed in like sardines for a trip to the islands. Nights spent downing discount drinks with other production line cattle.

When I share my love of Krabi for instance it saddens me when people say oh yeah, I’ve been there, we stayed in Ao Nang. So near yet so far, they made the 12 hour flight only to miss the real Krabi by 5 or 10km.

Here’s the thing though and the bit which fills me with hope. If we can raise the game a bit real Thai people can benefit. Rather than cram tourists into lorries for a trip to the islands have them step onto the beach from their resort and enjoy a private long tail experience directly with an owner operator who benefits financially. Those boat men (and the odd woman) are out there now but they are drowned in a cut price battle with the mass market.

Spend a bit more money and have a genuinely amazing experience. At the moment Thai suppliers just cater for what they think the tourists want and there’s a vicious circle of bargain hunting tourists arriving by the plane load to be herded and sold the same 2 dozen T-shirts from hundreds of stalls.

I still contend those 5 star resorts on tur islands are pretty busy and offer upscale services 

 

The thing is, most of those guests have an exclusive stay and you don't see them much

 

And I still say Thailand has to have a higher end  beach nightlife atmosphere