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News Forum - Why aren’t tourists returning to Khao San Road?


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The last few years were dark ones for tourism in Thailand and around the world. The Covid-19 global pandemic closed borders and killed tourism in so many crucial areas. Khao San Road, the vibrant, bustling backpacker heaven of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok quickly fell into a desolate ghost town. Now, the last pandemic restrictions have been lifted, and the government is constantly reporting floods of international tourists bringing Thailand back to life. But vendors on Khao San Road say they’re just not seeing the tourism numbers that were predicted even as all Covid restrictions have been lifted. The popular […]

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Isn’t the answer simply that tourism numbers remain 75% lower than 2019. So surely that means tourists visiting Khao San will be 75% lower. I think that’s how arithmetic works!

Now, if the real question is why are tourist numbers 75% down on 2019, that’s because until April there were still some Covid restrictions in Thailand. Flights from the source countries are typically 50%-80% higher. The world is in an economic slow down so people have less money to spend on luxury items such as foreign holidays. Throw in a few other issues such as the Thais still wearing face masks and the odd image of young protesters being fired at by riot police on the streets of Bangkok and there you have the answer.

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1 hour ago, Soidog said:

Isn’t the answer simply that tourism numbers remain 75% lower than 2019. So surely that means tourists visiting Khao San will be 75% lower. I think that’s how arithmetic works!

Now, if the real question is why are tourist numbers 75% down on 2019, that’s because until April there were still some Covid restrictions in Thailand. Flights from the source countries are typically 50%-80% higher. The world is in an economic slow down so people have less money to spend on luxury items such as foreign holidays. Throw in a few other issues such as the Thais still wearing face masks and the odd image of young protesters being fired at by riot police on the streets of Bangkok and there you have the answer.

Well said, Mr Dog.

I am certain that there are Many, Many other contributing factors; let me add one more.

The ease of getting visas.

Not that long ago, you could rock up to a Thai Embassy or Consulate and, with relative ease and speed, get a double/triple entry tourist visa. It was simple, convenient, and it appealed to those who stay at Khao San road and who will travel in the region.

Then, Prayut & Co 'fixed' things.

My niece recently went to a Thai Consulate for a visa and found that it wasn't worth her time; several different forms, supporting documents, wait times, lack of a human to question and other small annoyances made her decide that Thailand could be given a miss.

I quote...

"Mexico was just easier".

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In addition to what Soidog said, I think we should also consider the fact that Thailand has become much more expensive than it used to be, so even the people who do come to TH as tourists or on long-stay visas need to control their spending more than before. The neverending current of news from TH with plans for dual pricing in hotels, extra fees for foreigners etc. surely is not helping either to bring them back to the Country of Smiles. It just does not feel nice not to be welcomed as guests but to be mainly regarded as cash cows.

Plans to attract foreign capital, but to short-sightedly only target super rich people - as if they could  ever compensate for millions of average tourists and expats - scare away foreigners from TH as well. Talk about making TH the "Loius Vuitton" of destinations and generous offers to let foreigners buy 1 rai of land under conditions next to nobody meets (say, 40 million THB investment) and scrapping same announcement two weeks later so as to populistically placate nationalist protesters who are afraid of a sell-out of the whole country to evil foreigners, increases the overall feeling of not being welcome, even if just being a tourist without any plans to move to TH.

I am aware of the fact that my post is less on-topic than Soidog's. I am not here to complain, because I still love Thailand, even though the country does its best to make it harder for me to still love it. But I do. So rather than complaining, this is my take at explaining some things I feel are influencing foreigners in their decision to book a trip to TH or to spend a longer period of time there.

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1 hour ago, Shade_Wilder said:

Well said, Mr Dog.

I am certain that there are Many, Many other contributing factors; let me add one more.

The ease of getting visas.

Not that long ago, you could rock up to a Thai Embassy or Consulate and, with relative ease and speed, get a double/triple entry tourist visa. It was simple, convenient, and it appealed to those who stay at Khao San road and who will travel in the region.

Then, Prayut & Co 'fixed' things.

My niece recently went to a Thai Consulate for a visa and found that it wasn't worth her time; several different forms, supporting documents, wait times, lack of a human to question and other small annoyances made her decide that Thailand could be given a miss.

I quote...

"Mexico was just easier".

I think you have hit on a great point regarding visas. Back before 2012 I could go to my local consulate and within 30 mins max I had a 1 year multiple entry non-O allowing 90 days stay and all for about £100. The consulate is now permanently closed and visa applications are online and I can only get a 60 day single entry tourist visa. The online application process isn’t too bad but it has a number of confusing and annoying issues. 

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2 hours ago, kriegaex said:

In addition to what Soidog said, I think we should also consider the fact that Thailand has become much more expensive than it used to be, so even the people who do come to TH as tourists or on long-stay visas need to control their spending more than before. The neverending current of news from TH with plans for dual pricing in hotels, extra fees for foreigners etc. surely is not helping either to bring them back to the Country of Smiles. It just does not feel nice not to be welcomed as guests but to be mainly regarded as cash cows.

Plans to attract foreign capital, but to short-sightedly only target super rich people - as if they could  ever compensate for millions of average tourists and expats - scare away foreigners from TH as well. Talk about making TH the "Loius Vuitton" of destinations and generous offers to let foreigners buy 1 rai of land under conditions next to nobody meets (say, 40 million THB investment) and scrapping same announcement two weeks later so as to populistically placate nationalist protesters who are afraid of a sell-out of the whole country to evil foreigners, increases the overall feeling of not being welcome, even if just being a tourist without any plans to move to TH.

I am aware of the fact that my post is less on-topic than Soidog's. I am not here to complain, because I still love Thailand, even though the country does its best to make it harder for me to still love it. But I do. So rather than complaining, this is my take at explaining some things I feel are influencing foreigners in their decision to book a trip to TH or to spend a longer period of time there.

I think what you describe is an increasing negative sentiment towards Thailand compared to what it was say 10 years ago. Your post strikes at the heart of what has been a string of negative attitudes and under current towards tourists, long stayers and investors. There is both an arrogance and complacency among the Thai ruling elite which has been fuelled by the massive rise in tourism driven mainly by the Chinese. Basically, and to be crude, they really need to get their head out of their rear end. Thailand is not a place the whole world wants to visit. It’s certainly not the only place. 

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Around world people started focussing more on the word " thrifty", especially in Britain, Russia, Ukraine.

Most of the Europe went down due to Ukraine crisis, the prediction in the minds of the people is , the crisis is not going to be resolved quickly, which means needs to stock money for bad days to come.

This is not the time to holidaying !  Possibly it will take another 2-3 years to recover.

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I'm new to SEA and all this, so I guess I'd fit the description of a traditional tourist.  Let's start with nearby attractions at the road you said the palace and temples?  Fresh off the boat I was going to check it out only to see you have to buy a ticket 1 day in advance and make a reservation online.  China you don't have to do all of that to visit the terracotta museum, the forbidden city, or the great wall.  Another thing is you need to dress appropriately?  I could roll up to the forbidden city in China wearing an ACDC shirt, torn jeans, and sneakers.  I had to go shopping for nice clothes that fit an American size.  That's not cheap, but I didn't complain since I read teachers need to follow the same dress code for work everywhere in SEA (wearing black dress pants in a place with weather that never drops below 90F wtf).

Alright, so I've said my complaints about the surrounding tourist attractions.  My issue with Khao San is I didn't know the name or how to spell it.  I just know it as "the crazy bar street".  Didn't know they have others like Nana and  Soi Cowboy.  Nana is along the BTS and Soi Cowboy is at Asok/Sukhumvit station.  OH, and Nana has great food like Hooters and Asok has the pizza place under the bts plus Terminal 21 is awesome with Cinnabon and Cold Stone...I've been in China for the past 3 years so let me enjoy some western pleasures.  Haha!  I think you get my point.  Khao san is a little distance away from the bts/mtr, and there's nothing really worth going out there for.  If it's for the cheap backpack life, I don't recommend doing any big city in the world on the cheap because you're not going to have a good experience.  If it's slum life you want, I recommend Los Angeles.  

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There are more reasons, but to us, visiting prathet Thai for 25 years, the intolerable level of music that turned into noise on Kao Sarn is reason #1. It used to be so relaxed to stroll and have a Sangsom and coke and just enjoy the craziness. Yet nowadays it’s just too loud. 

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Economics mostly, at a guess. The Khao San Road tourists are the more cost-conscious end of the market, high air fares and high hotel prices (judging from the high season prices being asked) are a significant factor, plus the squeeze on finances from high inflation at home. But these tourists, like the Chinese high-turnover one week package tourists, are also the bread and butter of the industry - they need to be catered for just as much as the "Louis Vuitton" high spenders.  

 

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They are all going to Chiang Mai. I've been here for the past month and every flight from BKK to CNX is packed with backpackers. CM is humming like crazy with this variety of tourist.

 

 

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Hello to everyone.  Most of you are right with their comments. I live in Thailand and work in tourism for almost 20 years. My monthly salary varies from 35 - 60 K THB. The most shocking is to read about  the desperate Thai vendor that makes now ONLY 1000-2000 THB A DAY!!! This is 3-6 times more than the minimum Thai salary. I know a lot of Thais earning around 400-500 THB a day.  The greediness of vendors in tourist areas is disgusting. This was the reaction of my Thai staff too as i showed them the article. One can be very happy and feel lucky to have an employment and then you have to read about this soooo poor vendor struggling with income.....

The point is that this article was not written with caution as you have employers like me and Thais reading it. It would have been wiser to only mention the 75% decrease of income of the vendors and not to mention numbers.

 

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My take on it is that area has plainly become more unappealing as it has changed. For me never liked the area at all. But that's just me as I prefer to stay somewhere else.

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Too much of a backpacker's haven for so long.Never been there and never have i been interested to venture into a backpackers delight.

Not for me or for many tourists.

I stay in hotels and eat in restaurants not in hostels and street food.

Hope the dump ends up closing down.

Thailand can do better !!!

 

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After years of staying away, I went to try Khao San again recently - and found it to be just the same dirty smelly ****hole full of Thai vendors who literally hate their customers. When entering a club security felt hostile, the lady at the front felt hostile, and she was completely puzzled when I asked to buy a bottle instead of pay entrance. The club itself was half-empty with crowd so young you'd question their legality, and despite the lack of crowd people still managed to bump into you the whole time. We left after an hour to go to greener pastures, and on the way one of my friends decided he wanted to buy some green - which resulted in one of the vendors attacking him (pushing him hard into a table) when he refused and walked off an offer to buy at 4x times the normal price. Then these vendors complain that people are not coming...

Point being- expats and long-time Thailand residents don't go to Khao San for these reasons, and tourists with money go to better places. The past clientele of backpackers and very young tourists isn't coming for a simple reason - they have no money. Covid (unemployed) time with rising inflation and interest rates and most of them are flat out broke these days. Add rising flight prices and others costs, and even fewer wil come.

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11 hours ago, Rafa said:

Thailand can do better !!!

It certainly could, but I don’t think it will. For Thailand to improve its image and move to a situation which attracts more high spending tourists, it needs a long term strategy underpinned with a series tangible projects and actions. That’s just not going to happen any time soon. The fast buck mentality and the levels of corruption simply get in the way. Of course Thailand has improved and will continue to improve, everywhere does and that is part of the problem. Other places which attract higher spenders are also improving.  

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