Saving Pattaya Tourism - Maybe . . .

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Gaybutton
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Saving Pattaya Tourism - Maybe . . .

Post by Gaybutton »

If this works, that will help, but in my opinion the only way to rescue Pattaya's foreign tourist industry is to stop trying to change the paradigm and let Pattaya remain what it has always been until the prudes and others started sticking their noses in and ruining things long before anyone ever heard of Covid-19.

You want to save Pattaya's tourist industry? Very simple. Give the tourists what they want - and stop preventing them from getting what they want.

First, find ways to let foreigners return without having to undergo the 14-day quarantine, but keeping Thailand free of Covid-19. Second, do away with the ridiculous rules and regulations imposed over the past few years. Let the beach concessionaires operate as they had always done before someone decided to start regulating it. Allow them to host holiday beach parties as before too.

Adults neither want nor need some prude to tell them what time to go to bed. Let the bars set their own hours. Stop trying to regulate what goes on behind closed doors in the bars.

I'm sorry, but to my way of thinking I just don't see food festivals and concerts around the Bali Hai pier as the means that will attract adult foreign tourists - and it is with them, not this family oriented nonsense, where the best chance or resurrecting Pattaya's tourist industry lies.
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Pattaya Tourism Business Association wants Pattaya to be a foreign tourist test market if other cities, like Phuket, oppose plans

By GoongNang(GN)

Friday, 11 September 2020

The Thailand Tourism Business Association has held a meeting with the Pattaya City Mayor, Sonthaya Khunplume, to discuss possibly making Pattaya a testing ground for foreign tourism.

Today, September 11, 2020, the president of the Thailand Tourism Business Association Mr. Wichit Prakobkoson met the Pattaya City Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem at Pattaya city hall.

Mayor Sonthaya told Associated Press following the meeting, “The Tourism Businesses Association has discussed with us about many countries that have had success in the fight against COVID –19, similar to Thailand. They brought up several ideas and plans on how we could possibly invite these tourists back to Pattaya safely.”

“We have discussed about how to bring foreign tourists to Pattaya in order to sustain and reinvigorate the struggling tourism industry in Pattaya and Thailand. Pattaya has struggled heavily due to the lack of foreign tourists.” Sonthaya added.

Last year, Pattaya hit nearly ten million tourists and was the nineteenth most visited city in the world. Pattaya depends on tourism for roughly eighty percent of its GDP and without tourism has nearly no major industry to support the city.

“The Tourism Business Association is designing an overall plan with safety measures to officially recommend the plan to Pattaya City, along with relevant agencies such as the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).” Sonthaya added.

“In addition, many activities will be held up to the end of this year to encourage domestic tourism for Thai tourists to Pattaya.” Sonthaya concluded.

The meeting followed multiple reports of some residents of Phuket, previously proposed as a prominent testing location for foreign tourism, strongly opposing the plan.

The Pattaya News has previously mentioned several of these events, including a music festival, Halloween festival, Indian festival, food festival and other events.

The meeting was mostly informal and at this time is only in early discussion phases, notes The Pattaya News. With some tourist cities, like Phuket and the Phi Phi islands, showing opposition to foreign tourism plans by prominent local residents both Koh Samui and Pattaya have volunteered to step forward as test markets. In Pattaya, the majority of influential residents are also connected to the tourism industry and it is much more likely the majority of the city would approve a proposal.

However, the CCSA has previously stated that Pattaya would be “difficult” to make a test market due to concerns and fears that it would be too easy for a visitor in quarantine phases to leave the city as it is not an island. The Tourism Business Association stated they are working on safe ideas to avoid this potential problem.

https://thepattayanews.com/2020/09/11/p ... ose-plans/
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Re: Saving Pattaya Tourism - Maybe . . .

Post by gerefan »

The Pattaya News wrote: Sat Sep 12, 2020 2:21 pm However, the CCSA has previously stated that Pattaya would be “difficult” to make a test market due to concerns and fears that it would be too easy for a visitor in quarantine phases to leave the city as it is not an island. The Tourism Business Association stated they are working on safe ideas to avoid this potential problem.
Another day another proposal. What we need is a definite plan so that we can make arrangements, bearing in mind that the high season is now only 2 1/2 months off.

And what’s all this nonsense about Phuket being an island? As everyone will know there is merely a bridge there to cross to the mainland. Anyone can escape any time they like.
Jun

Re: Saving Pattaya Tourism - Maybe . . .

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Sat Sep 12, 2020 2:21 pm First, find ways to let foreigners return without having to undergo the 14-day quarantine, but keeping Thailand free of Covid-19. Second, do away with the ridiculous rules and regulations imposed over the past few years. Let the beach concessionaires operate as they had always done before someone decided to start regulating it. Allow them to host holiday beach parties as before too.

Adults neither want nor need some prude to tell them what time to go to bed. Let the bars set their own hours. Stop trying to regulate what goes on behind closed doors in the bars.
I agree with the first paragraph.
Whether or not it's possible to eliminate 14 day quarantine and get the same low covid risk is an interesting question. Is it sufficient to have 7-day quarantine with intensive testing ? Or allow people to move to a resort hotel with freedom of movement within the hotel after days ?

The restrictions on the beach concessions are idiotic and serve no purpose at all. I can only think someone in a position of influence has an investment in a competing attraction and wants more business at that venue on Wednesdays.

As for bars, I'm actually in favour of some fixed and enforced closing time.
That's because I don't want noisy drunken slobs returning to my hotel at 3:00 or 4:00 am and waking me up !
Allow the bars to open as early as they like and make sure they close by 24:00 or 1:00 am.
I'm not sure what time the bars are allowed to open, but think I've seen people drinking in the morning at some of them. 12 hours of drinking time should be quite enough.
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Re: Saving Pattaya Tourism - Maybe . . .

Post by Gaybutton »

Jun wrote: Sat Sep 12, 2020 5:17 pm As for bars, I'm actually in favour of some fixed and enforced closing time.
That's because I don't want noisy drunken slobs returning to my hotel at 3:00 or 4:00 am and waking me up !
Let's see if I've got this right . . . bars should be forced to close no later than 1:00am and people who come to Thailand for a holiday should have to stop partying and having fun at that same hour - and why? So that nobody disturbs your sleep. Ok . . .
Jun

Re: Saving Pattaya Tourism - Maybe . . .

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:40 pm Let's see if I've got this right . . . bars should be forced to close no later than 1:00am and people who come to Thailand for a holiday should have to stop partying and having fun at that same hour - and why? So that nobody disturbs your sleep. Ok . . .
Yes.

Or strictly speaking, so they don't disturb the sleep of anyone who wants to be asleep at 3:00 am. I'm sure the majority of residents AND tourists would prefer to be asleep at 3:00 am.

Now if all the people who are out drinking until 3:00 or 4:00 am could be trusted to quietly return to their hotels, I wouldn't object to a free for all with opening hours. But since they are often inconsiderate to others, I prefer bars to close at a sensible time.

I quite liked the 24:00 kurfew in Laos, when it was properly enforced. Still plenty of time for having fun beforehand.
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Re: Saving Pattaya Tourism - Maybe . . .

Post by Gaybutton »

Here's how Thailand is going to try to encourage domestic tourism. I believe it will work, but in my opinion the real question is whether it will be enough. I believe the answer is yes and no. Tourist spots that attract Thais will certainly benefit, but tourist spots that attract foreigners are unlikely to be helped - certainly not nearly enough in either case to rescue the situation.

But without opening Thailand to international tourism, which seems to be out of the question until there is no more Covid-19 danger, I don't see much else Thailand can do. And, of course, once Thailand does reopen to international tourism, how many tourists will actually come?

If Thailand reopens to international tourism - without quarantine - how soon would you go?
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More Thai public holidays likely to be scheduled this November to boost national economy

By Nop Meechukhun

15 September 2020

A Thai government committee is considering a long weekend at the end of Buddhist Lent in early November to boost more domestic travel and stimulate the economy, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said today, September 15.

The Deputy Prime Minister told the Associated Press before the cabinet meeting that the idea of the additional holiday was first floated by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O’Cha last week.

It is believed to be a four-day holiday, including Saturday and Sunday and is likely to be added in November as October already has several public holidays, according to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Wissanu told reporters: “We will speak to the Tourism and Sports Ministry on whether these extra holidays should be added to the end of Buddhist Lent so people can go traveling. We also need to consult traffic police officers to work on traffic control during the proposed additional holiday.”

Many domestic tourists had been traveling and potentially spurring the national economy, reportedly injecting tens of millions of baht, during the previous Songkran substitute long holiday on September 4 to 7th.

Pattaya benefited greatly from the last holiday weekend and is expected to once again attract many domestic tourists.

https://thepattayanews.com/2020/09/15/m ... l-economy/
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