News Forum - Thailand’s largest group of foreign tourists come from Malaysia

[Thaiger]

In July, Malaysians made up the largest portion of Thailand’s foreign arrivals, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Thailand welcomed 220,554 Malaysian tourists in July, most of them arriving via the land border crossing in Songkhla province. In a post-pandemic world, Malaysian travel to Thailand has never been easier, with the removal of Thailand Pass and insurance requirements. The Shuttle Train service which connects Hat Yai in Thailand to Padang Besar in Malaysia also resumed services in July, making travel between the two countries much more convenient. The one hour journey costs only 50 baht (7 Malaysian ringgits). Other […]

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[Ramanathan.P]

The most convenient and comfortable is land travel crossings. No need to go through all the hassle of airport checking in issue, May be it is fast and comfortable travelling. But in the end all the costs are almost the same. So land travel and crossings are the most convenient for neighbors. 

[Noble_Design]

A lot of my Malaysian men friends have been itching to come to Thailand since the pandemic. They said they have been carrying these blue balls for more than 2 years and just can't wait to lighten the load a little.

[Janneman]

1 hour ago, Noble_Design said:

A lot of my Malaysian men friends have been itching to come to Thailand since the pandemic. They said they have been carrying these blue balls for more than 2 years and just can't wait to lighten the load a little.

Definitely not the kind of wealthy foreigners that Thailand is aiming for.

[Noble_Design]

8 minutes ago, Janneman said:

Definitely not the kind of wealthy foreigners that Thailand is aiming for.

Really? Pre-Covid data suggests otherwise: 

https://www.mots.go.th/mots_en/News-link.php?nid=3627 https://www.mots.go.th/mots_en/more_news_new.php?cid=330&page=4

Per day spending more than most EU & countries from America. Total tourism receipt second/third (tied with the Russians) largest among all countries:

[cowslip]

This has been the case for about 40 years. The only change was in the last decade when the Chinese started to overtake. It remains to be seen whether Chinese figures will ever recover to previous levels.

[Lashay]

Per day spending is a pretty useless metric that they started to use here to turn the public backlash against the misbehaving chinese, but even if true (not) who is worth more to the economy, someone here for 5 days at 5k per day or someone here for 16 days at 4k?

 TAT's spend numbers are nonsense anyway, just look at Laos, 1.6 million arrivals, 5.56 day stay with average spend of $922, from a country with just over 7 million  in population with an average annual income of just over $2000.  Even accounting for bit richer folks in places like Vientiane (pop just under 1 million) there is simply no way to make those numbers work.

Always ask yourself this question about those and any other spend numbers from TAT,how would they even begin to collect that data in a reliable manner?

[Janneman]

On 9/13/2022 at 7:58 AM, Noble_Design said:

Really? Pre-Covid data suggests otherwise: 

https://www.mots.go.th/mots_en/News-link.php?nid=3627 https://www.mots.go.th/mots_en/more_news_new.php?cid=330&page=4

Per day spending more than most EU & countries from America. Total tourism receipt second/third (tied with the Russians) largest among all countries:

Interesting, I like sheets like this. Malaysians stay 5 days on average. And as you said, they mostly come too 'lighten the load a bit'. So I guess they come, have a drink or 2, perhaps smoke some weed, grab some bargirls, have a bit of fun, and go to sleep. For 3 days in a row. Fine with me, and they can do things they cannot do in their own muslim country. And yes, that makes them big spenders. But these arent the wealthy foreign tourists the Thai government is aiming for. Officially that is. Most likely Thai goverment doesnt care a ****

[Noble_Design]

6 hours ago, Janneman said:

Interesting, I like sheets like this. Malaysians stay 5 days on average. And as you said, they mostly come too 'lighten the load a bit'. So I guess they come, have a drink or 2, perhaps smoke some weed, grab some bargirls, have a bit of fun, and go to sleep. For 3 days in a row. Fine with me, and they can do things they cannot do in their own muslim country. And yes, that makes them big spenders. But these arent the wealthy foreign tourists the Thai government is aiming for. Officially that is. Most likely Thai goverment doesnt care a ****

I don't know if they fit the wealthy criteria set by the government, but one thing I know is I have yet to read news about them selling beads on the road side or paying 20 Malaysian cents on a 450 baht ride unlike those from so-called wealthier countries.