Chinese Women Fuel Thai Tourism Boom: Reuters

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

The times, they are a-changin'.

 

Go-go going as Chinese women fuel Thai tourism boom

BANGKOK (Reuters) - For decades since the Vietnam war, the scantily clad dancers in the go-go bars of Bangkok’s Patpong red-light district have been the face of Thailand’s tourism industry.

But last year for the first time, the country drew more women tourists than men as a surge in Chinese female visitors outweighed a longstanding distortion spurred by men drawn to the world’s “sex capital”.

The shift is welcome news for Thai authorities, who have tried to promote the country’s shopping, beaches and temples and to minimize the importance of sex tourism, which thrived after Thailand became an R&R hotspot for U.S. troops in the 1960s and 1970s.

Tourism ministry figures reviewed by Reuters showed 52 percent of more than 32 million visitors last year were women.

That compared to 48 percent in 2015 and only 42 percent in 2012. No earlier official data were available, but research from as far back as the 1980s shows a ratio of about 60 percent male to 40 percent female visitors.

“Not as many women visited Thailand because they thought we were a cheap destination with too much vice, but now more are coming, which means our image accommodates them,” Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told Reuters.

Tourism accounts for around 12 percent of Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy and is easily the fastest growing sector, particularly since a coup in 2014.

Hoping to attract more female tourists, the state’s Tourism Authority of Thailand started a “Women’s Journey” campaign last year, with a website and mobile application offering discounts for hotels, spas, malls, and restaurants.

But the biggest factor has been tourism from China, which has reshaped the industry around the world.

The number of Chinese visitors rose from nearly 12 percent of Thailand’s visitors in 2012 to 27 percent last year. The number of Chinese women visiting Thailand nearly quadrupled over the same period to more than 5.3 million.

“When Chinese men make a lot of money, they tend to take their wife, daughter, and mother to travel, making the ratio heavier on the female side,” said Virat Chatturaputpitak, vice president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents.

Major Chinese travel website Tuniu reported that 62 percent of its customers last year were women, Chinese media reported.

CHEAP, EASY AND CLOSE TO HOME

“I chose to come to Thailand because it’s close by, there are many flights, it’s cheap to travel and easy to get a visa,” said Man Na Zhang, 24, at Bangkok’s Erawan Shrine, a favorite spot for Chinese tourists despite a deadly bombing in 2015.

Chinese female visitors, who get a tourist visa on arrival, also cited a simple tax rebate procedure on duty free goods as another drawcard as they snap up items such as cosmetics, bottled bird’s nest soup, vitamins and supplements.

Many stores in Bangkok’s shopping malls now accept Alipay, China’s giant online payment service. A Big C supermarket near the Erawan shrine buzzes with Chinese tourists who fill their trolleys with bulk packets Tom Yum Goong flavored instant noodles, crispy seaweed and dried squid snacks.

Businesses in tourist towns have started printing menus in Chinese and getting workers to learn the language to cater to Chinese tourists, who last year made up more than those from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa combined.

China’s recent “Golden Week” holiday brought 70 percent more Chinese visitors than last year, the tourism ministry said.

For nationalities that traditionally patronized Thailand’s sex industry, tourist numbers are still dominated by men - 68 percent of Japanese visitors, 58 percent of British and nearly 56 percent of American, Australian and German tourists.

But even for those countries, the balance has shifted more towards female tourists.

Although the sex industry is far from dead, local businesses complain fewer tourists were visiting areas such as Patpong and nearby Silom neighborhood.

“There are evidently fewer tourists, especially in the low season, when sales can go from tens of thousands of baht a day to nothing,” said Somkid Sangwong, a manager of a restaurant in a Silom alley next to Patpong, surrounded by neon-lit signs for bars blasting loud music and offering raunchy live shows.

Phadet Mesild, a board member of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, another popular spot for sex tourism, told Reuters the decline in demand had forced many venues in the island to close down.

Since 2014, Thailand’s military government has occasionally raided brothels, bars, and massage parlors in an effort to clean up the country’s image, but they have usually bounced back quickly.

Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Additional reporting by Suphanida Thakral and Panu Wongcha-um in BANGKOK, and SHANGHAI Newsroom; Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Lincoln Feast

Edited October 21, 2017 by Evil Penevil

[atlas2 4,329]

Trouble is only the ugly ones are coming.

Edited October 22, 2017 by atlas2

[gs joe 1,776]

Trouble is only the ugly ones are coming.

I'm sure the same has been said of male Farang tourists ,

 

Joe

[Goldpanner 399]

Trouble is only the ugly ones are coming.

 

You....you mean there are some pretty ones??

[Irish boy 67]

Bus loads of Chinese in London, buying loads of high end clothes etc.

[jacko 8,815]

Bus loads of Chinese in London, buying loads of high end clothes etc.

You mean hats?

[Patna 3,802]

I'm sure the same has been said of male Farang tourists ,

 

Joe

Absolutely but doesn't change the facts

 

Sent from my SM-J200GU using Tapatalk

[simplelife 57]

An unfortunate trend that is likely to continue and that we can do nothing about.

 

When Thailand gets too rich, Cambodia is still next door though. Pol Pot wasn't such a bad guy after all!

[yogi100 1,925]

An unfortunate trend that is likely to continue and that we can do nothing about.

 

When Thailand gets too rich, Cambodia is still next door though. Pol Pot wasn't such a bad guy after all!

 

It won't be long. When I first visited Bangkok in 1984 we were driven along an elevated highway. There was hardly a tall building to be seen and there were acres of small sheds with corrugated metal roofs. At first we assumed that they were pig pens or chicken coops until we later discovered they were peoples' homes, they've all gone now. Tall corporate buildings stand in their place.

 

Every time I visit nowadays little things of no consequence will have gone up a bit in price even if it's only one or two baht. A few years back a bag of rice from a stall would be five baht now you'll pay ten baht. An eight baht bread roll in Friendship just went up in one hit to ten baht, that was this month, November 2017. A pack of beefburgers used to be 50 baht, they've shot up to 100 baht. A kilo of minced meat that was 165 baht is now well over 300 baht.

 

Fifteen years ago a GGG would usually be willing to go with a punter for a thousand baht. That's now just a memory and our money especially the GBP is worth about 60% of what it was then

 

Our economies are struggling along with our currencies. Those of Thailand are thriving. It won't be long before the girls will be wanting more money than we can afford. A couple of my pals in London can no longer afford their holidays in Pattaya, until recently wild horses couldn't keep them away.

 

Hong Kong and Singapore used to be notorious for cheap commercial sex, That's history now just like it will be in years to come where Thailand is concerned.

 

The writing's on the wall.

[wacmedia 277]

 

Fifteen years ago a GGG would usually be willing to go with a punter for a thousand baht. That's now just a memory and our money especially the GBP is worth about 60% of what it was then

 

Our economies are struggling along with our currencies. Those of Thailand are thriving. It won't be long before the girls will be wanting more money than we can afford. A couple of my pals in London can no longer afford their holidays in Pattaya, until recently wild horses couldn't keep them away.

 

 

Hi,

 

Good post. The Chinese are making a big difference worldwide .There is so many of them and they are a growing power. As you say our currency has tanked against the baht. In London Chinese money is making homebuying for our young people untenable. Bar a miracle we are history. That's just the way it is.

[simplelife 57]

This is just how the chips lie. Women are still programmed to treat sexual encounters as having a 25% chance of death if they get pregnant. Bad programming but we are no better in that regard. Regular mongering is meant to be a rich man's playground due to that extreme perceived cost. When the local economy gets to parity then the rest of us will go back to saving up for a month to bang a handful of times, if that.

Edited November 21, 2017 by simplelife

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

History of Thai Baht/UK £.

 

https://www.ofx.com/en-gb/forex-news/historical-exchange-rates/yearly-average-rates/

 

31 Dec 2004 73.937365

31 Dec 2005 73.008596

31 Dec 2006 69.845974

31 Dec 2007 64.801588

31 Dec 2008 60.99979

31 Dec 2009 53.66845

31 Dec 2010 49.013664

31 Dec 2011 48.886638

31 Dec 2012 49.23624

31 Dec 2013 48.0935

31 Dec 2014 53.513156

31 Dec 2015 52.362552

31 Dec 2016 47.853392

21 Nov 2017 43.690773

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

One has to think of others in this situation as well. Lots of Thais and other Asians working in Blighty. If they are sending money home they have had a big pay cut since 2004.