According to the article below tourism in Pattaya is under expectation for this high season - attributed mostly to safety and pollution concerns. With the PM2.5 counts being dangerously high right now I'm not surprised.
The biggest drop is in Chinese tourists (and their monster tour buses). which frankly I hope continues.
https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ons-489115
Pattaya Tourism - Not Hitting the Numbers
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Gaybutton
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Re: Pattaya Tourism - Not Hitting the Numbers
Also Pattaya has had no rain at all for the better part of nearly 2 months. The fewer people using the water we do have, the less the chance of going through a water shortage yet again.
When a few years ago the drought in Pattaya was so severe that there was almost no water at all left in the reservoir. You really could have walked across it without ever getting your feet wet. Why on earth they didn't dredge it out further, much further, when they had such an opportunity goes beyond me. Instead, they dealt with the water problems the usual way - just hoping there will be enough rain to keep the reservoir from running dry.
When a few years ago the drought in Pattaya was so severe that there was almost no water at all left in the reservoir. You really could have walked across it without ever getting your feet wet. Why on earth they didn't dredge it out further, much further, when they had such an opportunity goes beyond me. Instead, they dealt with the water problems the usual way - just hoping there will be enough rain to keep the reservoir from running dry.
Re: Pattaya Tourism - Not Hitting the Numbers
What I find interesting is how Chinese tourists are supposedly worried about being kidnapped by gangsters in Thailand to work in scam centers, when in-fact a lot of the scam centers in Thailand are run by the Chinese.
Re: Pattaya Tourism - Not Hitting the Numbers
The authorities in Pattaya sometimes make it look like they're trying to discourage tourism.
For example, a very long stretch of the path along the beach in Jomtien has been dug up and just left, awaiting eventual works. So tourists have to walk on the very narrow path on the opposite side, with no shade from the trees.
The state of the pavements in the rest of the town is apalling and there is still no bus network. The car is king here, yet tourists usually don't have cars.
I visited Nha Trang last month. That's far more elegant and advanced.
There are more pavements in good condition. There are no street food vendors obstructing the pavement and it's cleaner, since they don't dump greasy waste in the street.
I could walk along the beach on a wide flat path, in shade.
The choice of food was very good.
They even had a bus network, including buses that go past the railway station. Which has several trains per day, compared with one per day in each direction at Pattaya.
Of course, where Pattaya wins is with the gay scene. That's why I'm here. I presume that's what lured all of us here in the first place.
However, the majority of tourists aren't interested in the gay scene and those tourists have plenty of other options.
For example, a very long stretch of the path along the beach in Jomtien has been dug up and just left, awaiting eventual works. So tourists have to walk on the very narrow path on the opposite side, with no shade from the trees.
The state of the pavements in the rest of the town is apalling and there is still no bus network. The car is king here, yet tourists usually don't have cars.
I visited Nha Trang last month. That's far more elegant and advanced.
There are more pavements in good condition. There are no street food vendors obstructing the pavement and it's cleaner, since they don't dump greasy waste in the street.
I could walk along the beach on a wide flat path, in shade.
The choice of food was very good.
They even had a bus network, including buses that go past the railway station. Which has several trains per day, compared with one per day in each direction at Pattaya.
Of course, where Pattaya wins is with the gay scene. That's why I'm here. I presume that's what lured all of us here in the first place.
However, the majority of tourists aren't interested in the gay scene and those tourists have plenty of other options.
Re: Pattaya Tourism - Not Hitting the Numbers
Agree.
If Pattaya doesn't get its act together and start addressing the things you highlighted tourism will probably continue to decline. And at the same time, they're trying to attract the Rich & Famous to the crystal clear waters of Pattaya...
