Chiang Mai recently launched a cutesy sticker campaign to lure back Chinese tourists after they were trashed on social media and decided to boycott travel to Thailand.
Tourism numbers have also dropped among Europeans, Brits and Aussies though the Tourism Authority of Thailand is now focusing on trying to lure back only those that spend more money per person.
One of the reasons for that might be issues such as fear after the deaths on Koh Tao and the reaction of Thai police and officials. Pattaya One asserts that it may also be because of the attitudes of citizens towards guests of all kind, short and long term.
That paper produced a special report that looks at tourism trends over the last few decades.
The author, Albert Jack, mentioned how tourists “discovered,” enjoyed and then left, en masse, vacation destinations such as Spain, Greece and Turkey and that now those places are broke and far fewer vacationers visit anymore.
The reasons tourists abandoned these places had to do, often, with mistreatment by locals: rude behavior, pickpocketing, scams, watered-down drinks, short change in shops and unaccounted for credit card charges became the norm in those places, as a generation of locals grew up being supported by tourism and thinking that tourists would continue to come no matter how they were abused.
Jack says those behaviors are all too commonplace in Thailand today and that it’s the reason why tourists are leaving in droves.
It’s also true that, the more tourists that visit, the less peaceful and beautiful a place becomes as it gets overcrowded and ugly hotels, hostels, restaurants and other services spring up to meet the growing needs of tourists.
The “high-quality” tourists are already starting to desert Thailand, asserts Jack. The author notes tourists being ripped off by streetside food vendors offering dual pricing, “gold-stealing ladyboys,” cop-requested bribes, hiked-up bar tabs, assault by motorcycle-taxi drivers and sketchy tour guides as reasons that tourists might stop coming to Thailand. And warning their friends on social media to do the same before “discovering” the next trendy country, leaving the Thai economy in trouble.
The author warns that what’s happening with the Chinese now, could just as easily happen with other tourists that Thai people judge harshly or treat poorly. And there might be no cutesy stickers of Thai elephants holding hands with Chinese pandas that can bring the tourists — or their money — back.
What do you think?
Read the full article on the downfall of Thai tourism by Albert Jack on Pattaya One.
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