Chinese Tourists Avoiding Thailand: BBC Report

[PeterRS]

From the BBC website

For Chinese tourists in Bangkok, 76 Garage, an open-air restaurant on the northern outskirts of the Thai capital, has long been near the top of the list of places to visit. 

And they go there not for the food, but the waiters.

In the middle of the restaurant is a swimming pool. The evening reaches its highlight when the waiters, all fit young men, strip down to their shorts and wade into the pool, offering to carry the diners for a photo op and a tip. 

There was a time when 76 Garage was so popular you needed to book a month in advance to get a table. These days half the tables are empty.

Thailand's lauded tourist industry is missing its biggest customers: the Chinese.

When China finally lifted zero-Covid restrictions in January, allowing its citizens to travel overseas, Thailand had high hopes. It expected an upsurge in business that would help its tourist industry recover much of the ground it lost during the Covid pandemic.

The government predicted as many as five million Chinese tourist arrivals by the end of the year - still less than half the nearly 11 million who came in 2019. But a big improvement on last year, when there were only 250,000. 

That rosy scenario has turned out to be far too optimistic. Fewer than 2.5 million came in the first nine months of 2023.

"Our tourism ministry said visitor numbers would recover quickly after the pandemic," said Anucha Liangruangreongkit, a Chinese-speaking tour guide at the Grand Palace in Bangkok who has been working there for 42 years. 

"But they're dreaming. I'm a guide - I should know. If it was normal, like in the past, it would be packed, right? Look at it now. Are there a lot of people here? No."

Part of the problem is a shortage of low-cost flights post-Covid, and a slowing Chinese economy. 

The new Thai government hoped its announcement of a five-month visa waiver would entice more tourists. But a shooting at Bangkok's most famous shopping mall on 3 October, in which a Chinese mother of two children was killed, compounded an image problem confronting Thailand and other South East Asian countries. 

They are now considered unsafe by many Chinese people.

More at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67305693

[reader]

Walking the streets of Silom daily, the absence of groups of Chinese is noticeable. However, that doesn’t mean there’s an overall dearth of tourists. I’ve never seen Thaniya more crowded. The Patpong Night Market is vibrant and pedestrian traffic most nights is strong. Observing the passers by on Patpong 2 last night from Hot Male beer bar with a fellow board member, it was evident that tourists from elsewhere in Asia and western countries are picking up some of the slack. 

Hotel bookings are strong and restaurants and pubs are doing well. Soi 4 is doing a robust business on most nights and the massage shops are holding their own despite stiff competition.

Venues like 76 Garage are obviously hurting because they owed their success to tourists from a single source who travel in groups. Individual Chinese are still finding their way to Bangkok but aren’t necessarily drawn to those attractions.

The Chinese trade will be slower to materialize because of some of the reasons cited in the OP but also due to China’s current economic woes. Meanwhile, Thailand seems destined to prosper because it simply has so much to offer to all.

 

 

 

 

 

[orson]

5 minutes ago, reader said:

Hotel bookings are strong and restaurants and pubs are doing well. Soi 4 is doing a robust business on most nights and the massage shops are holding their own despite stiff competition.

Agree. I don't recall one of my fave hotel charging upwards $300 for a room - even pre covid. And just look at the side by side massage places on silom soi 6.

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, orson said:

Agree. I don't recall one of my fave hotel charging upwards $300 for a room 

for a week ?

[scott456]

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

for a week ?

You are on a different league. 

[KeepItReal]

6 hours ago, vinapu said:

for a week ?

 

5 hours ago, scott456 said:

You are on a different league. 

@vinapu Welcome to my league. Your membership card is on the way!

[PeterRS]

37 minutes ago, KeepItReal said:

@vinapu Welcome to my league. Your membership card is on the way.

Does membership guarantee to keep hotel prices down?

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, scott456 said:

You are on a different league. 

Hard to deny. I have my hotel indulgencies  but rather  not in three digits dollar range. Reason is not only monetary but I noticed that more opulent room is less inclined I'm to step out. 

What needs to be said , among other things Thailand  hotels , even in higher range,  are affordable in comparison in other places and if somebody is inclined to bask in some affordable hotel luxury, Thailand along with Cambodia and Vietnam are places to go.

I confirm Orson's findings as I check Bangkok prices from time to time , it seems that hotels are holding their prices comparatively quite high. Trying to recoup covid time losses I guess.

[EX Navy Dad]

A report on early morning BBC news also report one of the reasons for a drop in younger chinese (and Taiwanese) tourists is the risk of kidnap and taken to Cambodia where there is a large and thriving trade in organ harvesting, and also human trafficking is a real problem for younger chinese (also reported in the Guardian newpaper in the UK) 

Kidnap is a real problem for younger chinese tourists, that's why the numbers fell off a cliff, believed to be made worse by Chinese Tourist Vlogs scaring the pants of thier fellow nationals by reporting it on social media. 

[scott456]

6 minutes ago, EX Navy Dad said:

A report on early morning BBC news also report one of the reasons for a drop in younger chinese tourists is the risk of kidnap and taken to Mayanmar where there is a large and thriving trade in organ harvesting, particularly for younger people. 

Kidnap is a real problem for younger chinese tourists, that's why the numbers fell off a cliff, believed to be made worse by Chinese Tourist Vlogs scaring the pants of thier fellow nationals by reporting it on social media. 

Horrible.

[EX Navy Dad]

26 minutes ago, scott456 said:

Horrible.

Really horrible, I'd also point out you quoted me before I made an edit, suggesting Myanmar when it should read Cambodia, but both countries have questionable behaviour towards younger chinese and taiwanese tourists. 

[scott456]

Scary stuff.  I guess I will have to hire an escort to walk me back to hotel after clubbing late at night.  It's too bad that I still look young.

[PeterRS]

10 hours ago, EX Navy Dad said:

Kidnap is a real problem for younger chinese tourists, that's why the numbers fell off a cliff, believed to be made worse by Chinese Tourist Vlogs scaring the pants of thier fellow nationals by reporting it on social media. 

China and Hong Kong have been guilty of kidnapping journalists and booksellers (among others) from countries like Thailand and countries/provinces like Taiwan. I believe the numbers are small but legal actions against such action seem to have failed.

From The Bangkok Post 23 April 2023

Chinese tourist gets abducted at RCA, two suspects flee Thailand 

Another abduction case of a Chinese national has taken place in Bangkok, with police admitting the two suspects have fled Thailand. Deputy Metropolitan Pol Col Noppasin Poonsawat said the abduction took place on April 17. The victim, 28, is a Chinese solo tourist who went to an entertainment venue in Bangkok's Royal City Avenue (RCA).  There she met a Chinese man who later invited her to an apartment he rented in the Rama 9 area. 

Another man was hiding in the unit. The suspects tied her with rope before seizing her mobile phone, cash and other belongings worth 427,000 baht. In the early hours of April 18, the suspects left the apartment for Suvarnabhumi airport and fled Thailand, said Pol Col Noppasin. 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2555026/chinese-tourist-gets-abducted-at-rca-two-suspects-flee-thailand

 

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, scott456 said:

  It's too bad that I still look young.

use some Windex to clean the mirror

[scott456]

24 minutes ago, vinapu said:

use some Windex to clean the mirror

No worry, you don't need the mirror.  You will not be kidnapped.

[vinapu]

What a relief, I was about to update my Will

[scott456]

2 minutes ago, vinapu said:

What a relief, I was about to update my Will

But you might still need to use Windex to clean your eye glasses, so you don't trip over yourself.  Or just use your walker for better balance support. 

[vinapu]

13 minutes ago, scott456 said:

But you might still need to use Windex to clean your eye glasses, so you don't trip over yourself.  Or just use your walker for better balance support. 

don't choke on your lollipop