Gaybutton Posted June 17, 2009 Posted June 17, 2009 Battered Tourism Sector Seeks Urgent Government Help BANGKOK, June 17 (TNA)- Amid a sharp drop in tourist arrivals to Thailand, the country’s tourism agencies were alarmed and strongly urging the government to provide urgent measures to rescue the beleaguered industry. Tosaporn Thepbutr, deputy-chairman of Committee on Tourism and Sports, said the Association of Domestic Travel (ADT), the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association (TCTA) and Thailand-Japan Tourism Promotion Association on Tuesday submitted a complaint letter to the committee. They charged that although the government had announced tourism as a national priority, to date no concrete measures have been implemented by concerned-agencies to boost the country’s tourism industry. So the premier himself should intervene to resolve the problems. Thailand’s tourist arrivals sharply drop to a critical level, Mr. Tosaporn said, in June alone, the number of tourist arrivals has dropped from 165,000 in the same period of 2008, to 27,000 in 2009 due to the Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak, or 33.45 per cent year-on-year. Mr. Tosaporn said that with the falling number of tourist arrivals from almost every nation, except from Iran and Hong Kong, the earlier estimated arrival levels of 11 million tourists projected by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be unlikely to achieve the target. "The causes of the sharp drop in tourist arrivals are attributed to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in November and December, and recent domestic political turmoil, combined with the current outbreak of the H1N1 flu,” Mr. Tosaporn said. (TNA) Quote
Guest buckeroo2 Posted June 17, 2009 Posted June 17, 2009 not sure how a drop from 165,000 to 27, 000 is computed as being down by 33.45% - I calculate that as a drop of 83% - it there a misprint? new math? fuzzy math? Quote
Guest Soi10Tom Posted June 20, 2009 Posted June 20, 2009 not sure how a drop from 165,000 to 27, 000 is computed as being down by 33.45% - I calculate that as a drop of 83% - it there a misprint? new math? fuzzy math? No fuzzier than all of the rest of the news media reporting in Thailand. To believe anything in the Thai press is to be a fool. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I was just in Chiang Mai for 4 days. The city was virtually empty with very, very few tourists around. It's a great time to visit as almost all hotels are offering wonderfully cheap deals. Unfortunately, the downturn is inevitably having an effect on the gay scene. On another post, I gave directions to 2 of the gay bar areas very close to the Dusit d2 hotel. For those who are not staying in a hotel in that area near the Night Bazaar, the best way of finding them is first to get to the new Le Meridien Hotel. As you leave the hotel, turn right and then right again on to the little street behind. About 100 meters along you come of the Dusit d2 hotel on your right and a cluster of covered gay bars on your left. Several were open and there were a fair number of locals along with a few farang. Another 100 meters further along, you come to what is known as The Peak bar area. This used to have lots of open air bars, both gay and straight. On the night I visited, there were only 2 gay bars open and each had only 2 customers. I was told business has been terrible and the owner of one bar said he is going to move soon. I am sure that area will die as a gay haunt very soon. Of the more commercial bars, New My Way still has its better-than-average show with at least a couple of dozen boys revealing their not inconsiderable assets. My colleague had a drink with a particularly handsome and well-endowed one, khun M, who admitted that at least half the boys are straight, like him. Nevertheless, my colleague took him out, only to find it was a depressing experience. New My Way is a host bar, not a gogo bar - as are the two other main bars, Circle Pub and Free Guy (both near the Mercure Hotel - previously named the Novotel). There's good and bad news about Adam's Apple, which used to be the raunchiest in Chiang Mai and a real go-go bar where the boys often danced au naturel and shows left nothing to the imagination. It has been bought by an American who has turned the downstairs area into a very attractive cocktail bar. In time, this should become quite trendy and a place to meet non-commercial gay guys. But it has only been open for a few weeks and had just 5 customers when I poked my head around the door. Rumour has it that the upstairs will be re-opened within the next month or two (which is exactly what people said in February) and that it will be much more like the Adam's Apple of old. Hopefully this will be the case as it will undoubtedly enliven the rather depressing gay scene. Across the road from Adam's Apple, there is still the Garden Bar of the gay Lotus Hotel. But at 10:30 pm there were just two guys there. Massage places continue to sprout all over. I returned to 2 Brothers (5 minutes walk up towards Tapae from Le Meridien) and had another very pleasant massage from khun Bell from Udon who not only speaks some english but is both gay and prepared to go a little further than most in my limited experience of Chiang Mai's massage establishments. Again, the masseurs will be a mix of gay and straight, so make sure that the Mamasan knows you want a gay boy. That, though, will not guarantee some types of happy ending as it's all really up to the boy. Still, Bell is great. After we chatted for a while, I said he was "funny". "No," he replied, "I'm not funny; I'm naughty!" If you are planning a visit to one of the upper end hotels, Le Meridien is in an excellent position and is less funky than the new one on Suriwong in Bangkok. The rooms are what you'd expect from a 5-star hotel, with especially comfortable beds and lovely bathrooms with rain showers. There was absolutely no problem with joiners. Bed and breakfast for 2 should come in around Bt. 2,800 inclusive of everything except internet. But there's no need to pay the hotel's 750 Bt daily internet rate. Just outside there's an internet place at 30 Bt per hour, which of course makes me wonder how any hotel can consider charging such an outrageous price - but then that's another story! Of the boutique hotels, I have stayed recently at the De Naga near Tapae Gate (around Bt. 1,900 inclusive of everything) and the lovely U Hotel (around 2,200 ++ if you stay 3 days or more, but that's inclusive of 24-hour internet and breakfast). Again no problem with joiners Dining. In my earlier post, I highlighted the cuisine at Moxie, the coffee shop in the Dusit d2. Dined there again on this visit and found some of the zest and flavour had gone out of the offerings. However, the hotel does have some interesting promotions from time to time which are worth checking out. Last week, it had an excellent all-you-can eat-and-drink cheese, cold cuts and wine buffet at Bt. 599. This included tax and service! Tremendous value and very popular with a trendy crowd. There were about 20 European cheeses, and athough only Chardonnay and Shiraz on offer, the generally cute waiters kept filling our glasses regularly. For haute cuisine dining, the gay-owned The House near Tapae Gate is almost as good as you will find anywhere in Thailand. Only open for dinner, it is a beautiful setting, with impeccable service, relatively short menu and splendid wine list. 4 of us had a superb dinner choosing from the main menu which came to Bt. 870 net each including cocktails. The house wine is around Bt. 900 ++ but we chose a French Pinot Noir at $1,280++. The House also has a table d'hote menu at Bt. 900 ++ which gives you 4 courses and one glass of wine. Last point. With so much rain this year, the waterfalls that are a relatively easy drive from Chiang Mai are superb and well-worth visiting. On one 3-hour trip, I took in the Mae Klang falls and the hugely impressive Watchitarathan falls in full flood. Quote
