News Forum - Pattaya sees big tourism growth, but mostly domestic

[Thaiger]

Pattaya has been frustrated for being passed over for an exemption from the national alcohol ban that other tourist areas like Phuket have received as a tourism “Blue Zone”, but nevertheless, one of Thailand’s most popular resort cities is seeing tourism slowly emerge from its Covid-19 pandemic induced slumber. With a menu of events through the end of the year, hotels have been booking up for upcoming holidays and celebrations. The Pattaya Music Festival has been going for the past 10 days, and next week the city will host a big Loy Krathong festival followed the week after by a […]

The story Pattaya sees big tourism growth, but mostly domestic as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[King Cotton]

 

Surprise, surprise . . . Thais have cocks as well, don't they . . . and that's trying very hard not to be rude!

[Griff1315]

Yeah let's all rush off to Pattaya plenty of girls to go round and a free cell for the night for having a beer with your meal.

Whoopi 

[Jason]

Yep...smoke and mirrors....

[palooka]

 

7 minutes ago, King Cotton said:

Surprise, surprise . . . Thais have cocks as well, don't they . . . and that's trying very hard not to be rude!

Most don't have to go to Pattaya to get the 'dirty water off their chest' and pay for it.

Heck I'm a 70 yr old farlung and don't need to go to Pattaya.

[palooka]

Think a lot of Thais went to Pattaya pre Covid- you just didn't notice them in amongst all the farlung.

 

[Cabra]

Thailand has always downplayed the existence of prostitution and now the powers that be see an opportunity to further promote that narrative. Which is why I suspect Pattaya is being left behind as reopening slowly takes hold. Pattaya needs to desperately reinvent itself (to the chagrin of many expats) or suffer even more.

[Soidog]

13 minutes ago, palooka said:

Think a lot of Thais went to Pattaya pre Covid- you just didn't notice them in amongst all the farlung.

I think that’s correct. When I go to Pattaya I often take a short bike ride out of town north along the coast and there are plenty of nice hotels and restaurants full of Bangkok Thais. There are also plenty of nightspots where they can “relax” in the evenings. 

[Malc-Thai]

25 minutes ago, Griff1315 said:

Yeah let's all rush off to Pattaya plenty of girls to go round and a free cell for the night for having a beer with your meal.

Whoopi 

You could get to meet rip though, with his banners " down with bars"

[Soidog]

8 minutes ago, Cabra said:

Thailand has always downplayed the existence of prostitution and now the powers that be see an opportunity to further promote that narrative. Which is why I suspect Pattaya is being left behind as reopening slowly takes hold. Pattaya needs to desperately reinvent itself (to the chagrin of many expats) or suffer even more.

I agree with all you have said. I have no problem with the government trying to rebalance its economy or shift its tourism objectives away from the hedonistic attractions of Pattaya, Patong, Nana etc. However, you do this over time and establish alternatives first, before pissing off and criticising your existing customer base and making them feel like an inconvenience and an unwanted scourge. If I was Vietnam or Cambodia, I would be looking to take advantage of this opportunity the Thais are presenting them with. 

[Griff1315]

10 minutes ago, Malc-Thai said:

You could get to meet rip though, with his banners " down with bars"

Just put my suitcase away thanks Pal....

[mickkotlarski]

5 minutes ago, Soidog said:

I agree with all you have said. I have no problem with the government trying to rebalance its economy or shift its tourism objectives away from the hedonistic attractions of Pattaya, Patong, Nana etc. However, you do this over time and establish alternatives first, before pissing off and criticising your existing customer base and making them feel like an inconvenience and an unwanted scourge. If I was Vietnam or Cambodia, I would be looking to take advantage of this opportunity the Thais are presenting them with. 

Hi Soidog

I think there's a good chance they are looking into it already. Thailand had something for everybody (well..it used to anyway). The numbers entering will drop once the top and lower dollar tourists realize that many of the perks are less or less freely available.

[Dedinbed]

47 minutes ago, King Cotton said:

Surprise, surprise . . . Thais have cocks as well, don't they . . . and that's trying very hard not to be rude!

or as my bird used to say " you have election now " .?

[Soidog]

4 minutes ago, mickkotlarski said:

Hi Soidog

I think there's a good chance they are looking into it already. Thailand had something for everybody (well..it used to anyway). The numbers entering will drop once the top and lower dollar tourists realize that many of the perks are less or less freely available.

Well if I was Hun Sen I’d be marketing places to attract as many people out of places like Pattaya as I could. I’d make entry requirements easier such as visa fees and plough millions in to places to rival Pattaya. 
 

Slight aside story. A few years ago I visited Cambodia and was surprised to see they had an E-visa system up and running. It took all of 10 minutes to complete the online form. I got an instant notification of the application, 48 hours later I got an email with my visa attached. It even told me I didn’t need to print in colour and just make two copies. Worked flawlessly. The Thais are just getting around to it and the system is, well, how should I best describe it? SH1T !!

[mickkotlarski]

10 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Well if I was Hun Sen I’d be marketing places to attract as many people out of places like Pattaya as I could. I’d make entry requirements easier such as visa fees and plough millions in to places to rival Pattaya. 
 

Slight aside story. A few years ago I visited Cambodia and was surprised to see they had an E-visa system up and running. It took all of 10 minutes to complete the online form. I got an instant notification of the application, 48 hours later I got an email with my visa attached. It even told me I didn’t need to print in colour and just make two copies. Worked flawlessly. The Thais are just getting around to it and the system is, well, how should I best describe it? SH1T !!

Good on them. Would like to visit the Angkor historical park again. Went years ago when the last of the Khmer Rouge were still around. Good news on the E-visa. Thanks for that Soidog.

[mickkotlarski]

1 hour ago, King Cotton said:

Surprise, surprise . . . Thais have cocks as well, don't they . . . and that's trying very hard not to be rude!

 

Now there's a comment that it is both honest/logical and has a good comical punch to it. couldn't have put it better myself.

[Stonker]

1 hour ago, Thaiger said:

But the Tourism Association Chairman says this is still too much of an inconvenience for many travellers that aren’t interested in jumping through hoops to get into Thailand, especially for Pattaya, a city world-renowned for its nightlife which is all shuttered, or supposed to be anyway.

That's odd.

I read the source article in the Bangkok Post and according to that the chairman of the Pattaya Tourism Association didn't say that at all, or suggest the "hoops" and "expensive PCR test", etc,  were putting anyone off.

All he put it down to was being unable to open the bars and "night entertainment industry", which seems far more realistic than the idea that a couple thousand baht for a PCR test is putting people off:

"Mr Rattanachai said economic activities will increase once the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration lifts a ban on serving alcohol in restaurants and eateries.

Several business operators have hesitated to reopen and call their employees back to work because of this restriction, he said.

The CCSA has allowed dine-in services with the sale of alcoholic drinks at restaurants passed by the Safety & Health Administration until 9pm in blue zones -- Bangkok, Krabi, Phangnga and Phuket.

He also called on the government to set a timeline for night entertainment venues to resume, saying nightlife operators' frustration is growing especially when they are the only sector that remains closed.

"The night entertainment industry is a lifeline in Pattaya in addition to the travel sector," he said."

 

[Bluesofa]

1 hour ago, Thaiger said:

Pattaya sees big tourism growth, but mostly domestic

I never realised there were so many temples.

[J121]

The authorities are few steps behind other countries opening the country up to foreign travel. The easing of entry requirements they announced in November should have been done in July. Hence the new requirements are outdated from day 1. What is a point of admitting vaccinated tourists in but still asking them to provide troublesome, negative PR test from no more than 72 hours before arrival? And if that trouble was not enough, asking them to test again on arrival and stay in Micky Mouse hotel? And also to purcharse a health insurance! And apply for some passes! This is ridiculous and unless it is dropped quickly the end of the year high season is wasted again. No more difficult entry procedures for vaccinated travellers now! Full stop.

[King Cotton]

9 minutes ago, J121 said:

The authorities are few steps behind other countries opening the country up to foreign travel. The easing of entry requirements they announced in November should have been done in July. Hence the new requirements are outdated from day 1. What is a point of admitting vaccinated tourists in but still asking them to provide troublesome, negative PR test from no more than 72 hours before arrival? And if that trouble was not enough, asking them to test again on arrival and stay in Micky Mouse hotel? And also to purcharse a health insurance! And apply for some passes! This is ridiculous and unless it is dropped quickly the end of the year high season is wasted again. No more difficult entry procedures for vaccinated travellers now! Full stop.

More than valid comment. @J121, with it seeming like the PtB are trying to shoot themselves in the foot, with this long delay of potential visitor enjoyment.

And your debut post, too, so welcome aboard the good ship Thaiger Talk!

[Rip255]

Colour me shocked!

Who could have predicted that Thais would actually be proud to return to the city now that the drunks and working girls have been told to move on.

 

 

[Stonker]

1 hour ago, mickkotlarski said:

1 hour ago, Soidog said:

If I was Vietnam or Cambodia, I would be looking to take advantage of this opportunity the Thais are presenting them with

I think there's a good chance they are looking into it already

I'm pretty sure they're not, and if you go to Vietnam or Cambodia looking for anything remotely resembling Nana, Patpong, Pattaya or Patong you'll be in for a serious disappointment .

That's absolutely not the way they're going, and go-go's are no-no's.

Beer bars and "hostesses", from the seriously seedy to rather more subtle, but nothing like Thailand's nightlife and they're very much avoiding going in that direction.

[Stonker]

1 hour ago, Soidog said:

Well if I was Hun Sen I’d be marketing places to attract as many people out of places like Pattaya as I could.

Well, evidently Hun Sen doesn't feel the same way as he's done the opposite, and while Cambodia's attracted some of the dross from Pattaya who were priced out as they couldn't do unlimited visa runs or meet the financial minimums here any more, he's cleaned up a lot of the seedier side of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville's beer bars.

Their main target is also Asian, particularly the Chinese who own and control far more of the tourism side there than they do in Thailand.

The absolute last thing any of them are doing is ploughing millions into anywhere to rival Pattaya.

[Poolie]

32 minutes ago, Rip255 said:

Colour me shocked!

Who could have predicted that Thais would actually be proud to return to the city now that the drunks and working girls have been told to move on.

Hi Ripitupan

None of the floozies I'm talking to have been told any such thing. Drunks, well I dunno. What have the Temperance Society said?

[Stonker]

4 minutes ago, Poolie said:

Hi Ripitupan

None of the floozies I'm talking to have been told any such thing. Drunks, well I dunno. What have the Temperance Society said?

Exactly.

I haven't been to Pattaya for a few years but still have friends there (farangs and floozies) and none have suggested or seen this at all.

Like so much else here, there's nothing to support it in any way and it's all based on a few bar-stoolers, many of whom aren't here, looking for something to complain about.