More Dark Clouds on the Thailand Tourism Horizon

Tags: Bangkok, Business, Suvarnabhumi, Thailand, travel

As we rapidly approach the high season for tourism, which is a keystone in the Thai economy, we have to be pragmatic in our predictions for economic growth and tourism revenue. We must avoid attempts to create facts from hopes regardless of how altruistic our intentions. There is a dark cloud on the horizon and we have to face it, more blind zealotry is simply callous, not to mention ignorant.

Now, I’m not a cynic but I know enough to analyze simple causal trends and to know when a situation is going from bad to worse and Thailand has seen its’ share of bad lately. In the past few years we have had intermittent yet progressively violent confrontations in the south, a devastating Tsunami, Bird flu, months of protests and then a coup which was followed by more months of protests. Then we were forced to respond to another flu and saw more cuts in tourism and while all this was happening we experienced the biggest depression in a century. To top it all off, we’ve had 4 prime ministers in the last 3 years! Sounds bleak, right?

I’m usually a glass is half full sort but when I opened the news this week I was confronted with what looked like another possible slap in the face to the Thai tourism industry. Bangkok’s new international airport is once again in the news. Although it took nearly 40 years to complete, no one expected it to get this much publicity in such a short period of time. First we heard about the King Power Duty Free debacle that took place during the Thaksin administration, and then it was the CTX scanners and the arrests in the US. Then we had the illegal seizure of the airport by the PAD and the subsequent change of government. We’ve been told about near constant delays in the airport railway link project and the massive costs incurred. All of this was part of the rash of bad publicity the Kingdom has received and all of this happened in just a few years. Now, we have another problem to face: tourists being forced to pay more bribes.

We have all heard about some of the tricks which are common here. Taxi scams are everywhere and most tourists expect to pay more at an airport then elsewhere in the city center. Tuk Tuk drivers meander through the streets swerving from one gem shop to another regardless of the passengers’ chosen destination. Shifty bar owners pad customer’s checks and put unsuspecting tourists in compromising situations. But the very few tourists expect to be knocked out by some sort of gas emitted from the vents in the taxi (as is often reported by Thai women in the Thai daily news) and then robbed or worse. Even fewer tourists expect to be detained in the duty free area on suspicion of shoplifting, only to be told that they have to pay large sums of money to be released. And that is exactly what has been broadcast on a British television program. It seems like an episode of Banged up Abroad but it’s not. The program, titled “Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand”, explores “the ugly side of tourism in Thailand” and will undoubtedly have features about beach goers being robbed or shot, innocent girls walking back from the pub alone and running into trouble, jet-ski operators ripping people off and so on.

Some of these stories will prove false, some will be exaggerated beyond recognition and some will be textbook examples of contemporary media sensationalism. More importantly, these programs and others like them, simply add fuel to the fire that is incinerating the tourist industry in Thailand. After years of disasters which have crippled the Thai tourism industry, some people here have managed to add insult to injury and further jeopardize the tourism sector.

The global economy is showing signs of recover, but most people are still apprehensive about spending. If Thailand is going to draw more tourists that it has in recent years, it needs to take practical steps to solve the problems that tourists face. At present, the international media continue to focus on the dark side of traveling to Thailand and anyone that has been a tourist here is aware of the existence of this dark side. Doesn’t sound too peachy, does it?

However, every cloud has a silver lining. The government is taking steps to solve the problems at the airport. The hotels are offering great holiday packages and it’s cheaper to stay in Thailand today that it has been for 10 years. The tourism police are taking steps to keep tourism areas safe. Domestic flights are cheap and plentiful and more and more international volunteers are stepping up and assisting the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Even with the recent security issues, Thailand still feels safe and it is safe to walk at night in most areas of the country. Last, but not least, the Thais themselves are still welcoming and realize the importance of the tourism dollar. So, as we head into the ‘high season’ we can only hope that the recent negative media will soon pass. Otherwise, the men and women in the tourism industry are going to sulk through another depressingly poor high season.