Around 3.11 million travellers expected to spend 12.6 billion baht during long weekend

12 Comments

1. 

   Stefan Svensson

   Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 6:30 pm

   Happy holiday

   Reply
2. 

   Jason

   Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 6:37 pm

   Amazing Thailand…..beautiful one day….deserted the next…. I wonder how much of this hype Thais actually believe?? I hope the wise ones in Thailand continue to stop spending money on opening their businesses and instead save as much money as they can to weather the storm of deprivation…..

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3. 

   Jesse James

   Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 6:42 pm

   Thai economy is saved now, tourism is back to normal.

   Reply
4. 

   Issan John

   Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 7:13 pm

   The number of holidays is now getting absurd.

   Reply
5. 

   Bob

   Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 9:47 pm

   Hmm… according to a recent Bangkok post article:

   ‘While the tourism industry is waiting for the sunlight of 2024, Thai consumers are drowning in debts with less and less income to rely on. It is certain that Thai household debt to GDP will exceed 80% this year which would put Thailand in the top 10 among countries with the highest household debt to GDP. Following such high levels of debt, banks actually stopped extending new consumer loans since January 2020, even before the Covid-19 outbreak. According to my own calculations, 20% of domestic consumption is financed by borrowing. No loans means no consumption.’

   Is it wise to keep spending? It may well be that only the tourism industry is suffering but looking at it from a broader perspective, the global consumption seems to have slowed down and with that demand which will affect supply.

   While I am very sympathetic toward the tourism industry (being on the receiving end) the next ‘wave’ will be production, something Thailand excels in but has little control over.

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   • 

     Issan John

     Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 1:00 pm

     The debt problem already goes way beyond the tourist sector, and is affecting those in “production” where household debt has always been highest.

     The “80% of GDP” figure for household debt is almost certainly a considerable under estimate as it’s based on known debt, at approved rates, rather than ‘black market’ loans at ten or a hundred times that rate.

     In the rural areas it’s an ongoing but steady problem as loans are based on what land people own and what work they can do, as sugar cane cutters and rice teams are ‘recruited’ in advance from the villages and given loans based on an ‘advance of salary’ from work they’ll do over 2 or 3 months during the harvest season, often away in other provinces.

     For factory workers, though, loans are far easier to come by based on their guaranteed salaries, annual bonuses (usually the equivalent of one or two months pay, at New Year), and expected overtime (OT) which can double basic pay (or more). Now, though, demand has dropped off and many are without OT and their bonuses will be less but they still have the same debts to pay off.

     ‘Finance’ for a pick-up or car is easy to come by for a factory as it’s deducted at source from pay, so many have way over-extended themselves based on OT and bonuses they’re no longer getting and they’re facing debts they’ll be paying off for decades where they can only pay off the interest.

     … and all that’s compounded by extra government holidays – when before they’d have had OT or ‘double time’ for working on a holiday, now it’s an excuse for factories to close instead so they don’t have to pay their staff for the day.

     … and for those on the poverty line, its yet another day when their kids won’t be getting a free school meal and milk every day.

     Extra holidays may be a chance for some to go out and spend money, and for some to make it, but for many others they’re the complete reverse.

     Reply
6. 

   Remo

   Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 9:55 pm

   Domestic tourism does not stimulate the local economy, as it doesnt bring extra cash to the country.

   People have a given amount of money , and if they spend a certain amount on domestic trips they will have less to spend on other things, and their total expenditure will be the same with or without traveling.

   To generate extra GDP and create extra jobs, the country needs foreign tourists who bring money to Thailand from abroad.

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   • 

     Issan John

     Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 1:40 pm

     Sorry, but your economics is flawed (as, to be fair, is the policy).

     The idea behind extra holidays and local tourism is to encourage people to spend more that they would otherwise have saved (not “spent on other things”), rather like reducing interest rates so people spend money rather than save it.

     The problem with both is that they only work as long as people have savings to spend, and if they don’t then the policies not only fail but are counter-productive – you can’t spend what you don’t have, particularly when a holiday not only stops you working but gives you kids home from school to feed and take care of.

     Unfortunately all too often those in government and authority making the policy seldom have any experience of those affected by it as their backgrounds are so radically different, and that’s as true in Thailand as it is anywhere.

     Reply
7. 

   EdwardV

   Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 10:19 pm

   “boost the hotel occupancy rate up by 40%” – Considering the fact some 80% of hotels in tourist areas are still closed, that rate should be much higher.

   Reply
8. 

   Bobby B

   Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 9:52 am

   Just love the governments money spent predictions.

   If so many Thai’s are out of work because of no tourists. Where do they get all that money to spend?

   Or is that 3.11 million Thai’s the rich and wealthy?

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   • 

     Issan John

     Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 1:42 pm

     The problem’s far more than just “no tourists”.

     Reply
9. 

   Yan

   Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 10:08 pm

   When speaking with Thai, who also have their own information channels…Covid is present in almost all provinces and spreading. The Government doesn’t want Thai people to know…so it is not in the news. If it would be in the news…domestic travel also stops….and that would be a catastrofy….

   Reply