HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Tourist numbers are down

Embrace the nightlife

Tramway

Tourist numbers are down

Dear Sir Editor,
So, in the Pattaya Mail of August the 8th, we are finally informed by those that know tourism has suffered a 30% decline in the first 3 months of the year (I can only imagine the figure for the Second Quarter which no doubt will be trumped yet again by the disappointing figures for the Third Quarter!).
And at the same time I read that Pattaya’s best continue to raid and harass Pattaya’s nightlife! When will someone wake up and explain to the city fathers that far from shooting themselves in the foot, they are now aiming at their brains?
Pattaya’s one and only claim to fame is nightlife and in an ever more competitive market and an ever more difficult world economy, this facility must be encouraged and protected if Pattaya is to survive as a tourist destination. It would appear that some people are indeed very slow learners (and possibly should not be in such positions of power and authority).
Yours truly,
Ms. Bridgette Stonewell
Perth, Australia

Embrace the nightlife

Editor;
Well it is official, 30% down on tourism in Pattaya in the first six months of this year. It would be quite easy to blame the global economic downturn but I think we have to look closer to home than that and it will take more inventive thinking than simply re-jigging the web site, although of course that is important.
This massive slump is dangerous as loss of jobs and poverty create ever increasing crime by those driven by economic desperation. Here we are at the end of August having had fantastic sunny weather with just the right amount of interspersed rain since the close of the “season” at March end (note I cannot include April in the season as the absurdity of the 8 day extended Songkran always kills that month) but with very few visitors. The wonderful uniqueness of Pattaya’s climate should give an almost year round spread of tourism which I have to say we used to have.
If you want to know the future then study the past. What was Pattaya built on? In the 60s it was war shocked Americans who came here for R&R. In the 70s it was backpackers that found their way down here on mud roads in the rattling Erawan coaches and in the 80s the city started to open up to mass tourism. What was the attraction that got people talking and recommending our wonderful city to all parts of the globe eventually creating Pattaya’s mass expansion? Remember this was way before the world of mass travel agents and websites. The answer is quite simply, the nightlife!
Yes, the beaches in the 70s and 80s were great as was the golf and the restaurants, etc., but we had great beaches and restaurants and golf nearby in France and Spain. The nightlife as found in Pattaya we didn’t have and that is what bought in the tourists. They in turn told their friends and so on. It wasn’t just sex. Many of these people formed liaisons, married, had children, bought houses in Pattaya and built houses and bought land for their families in places like Roi-Et and Udon Thani. Virtually every village in Issan has a “farang” house or two. Many guys (rightly or wrongly) send money on a monthly basis to their loved ones, sometimes in huge amounts.
This of course is a massive invisible import contributing to the wealth of Pattaya and for that matter Thailand. Take for example one single liaison that is fairly typical. A foreigner of moderate wealth settles down with his Thai wife. The first purchase is a dwelling, then comes furnishings, TVs, mod cons, etc., then a car, possibly two or a motorcycle. These purchases will need insuring and maintaining. They will shop at Tesco, Homemart, Big C, Villa supermarket, etc. They will go to the cinema, shopping, join gyms, take up hobbies; all improving the economy and creating jobs. A house in the village will follow as after all that was really why the two met in Pattaya in the first place. They may have kids that will be educated at The Montesorri or the School of the Regents. All of this will be paid by the foreigner from his money bought into Thailand from abroad. Huge invisible import.
I am not saying that this stereotype is the total reason for Pattaya’s economic success as it isn’t. One of the biggest influences in that area in the 90s and onwards is the sensational expansion of industry around Chonburi and the Eastern Seaboard, which has nothing to do with tourism and thank God we have the benefit of that in Pattaya.
What I am saying is that this “market” is being openly discouraged by the complication of Visa requirement and the ridiculous laws concerning home ownership by foreigners and finally by the incomprehensible, ever changing laws concerning the nightlife.
I have nothing against the idea of “family” tourism and couples tourism but not at the expense of nightlife tourism. I have to say that it is very difficult to promote family tourism with the beaches as they are, ill kept and antiquated. It is also dangerous to run after “fads” like the Russian market which lasts only 3 months of the year or mass oriental tourism where one good nightlife tourist would out spend 20 Chinese mass tourists over a period of one week. Family tourism should be pursued and allowed to evolve at a rate that is equal to the improvements of facilities that are essential to it; eg., the beaches and road/pathway systems.
In the meantime let’s get back to basics and the nightlife back in focus, embrace it and be damn proud of it. Encourage people to come all the year round to enjoy our nightlife, all year round sunshine and fantastic comprehensive facilities. Make long term visas easier to obtain and lower the age for a retirement visas and encourage house purchase with a swift change in the law. Oh and finally, restrict the wonderful celebration of Songkran to one weekend only. Let’s get Pattaya back on track!
Richy

Tramway

Editor;
Today I read with amazement an article in the 29 August issue of Pattaya Mail. I had to laugh the entire time I was reading this article entitled, “Tramway would be beneficial for city says Senate commission”. I think the word ‘commission’ is the key to this article.
The solutions offered indicate the fact that these people don’t have any clue what to do. Here is what I think needs to be done regarding traffic.
1) Ticket all drivers for not stopping at red lights, and for proceeding thru an intersection 2-5 seconds before their stop light turns green. Fines must be a minimum of 500 baht.
2) Require songthaews to stop only along the curb, not in the middle of the road. Also, they must stop backing up on the road hoping to find 15 baht worth of customers coming from some soi they just drove past. Fines must be a minimum of 500 baht.
3) Allow big tour buses to stop only at a few designated places, such as Mikes Shopping Mall and Royal Garden Mall. Fines for this should be a minimum of 2,000 baht.
4) Keep the garbage trucks moving along Beach Road by prohibiting the sorting of garbage as they go. That can be done at a central location away from the traffic on the beach. Just collect the trash quickly and move along.
5) Stop all people, including police, from driving motorcycles on the sidewalk.
6) Remove most of the rental motorcycles from parking on Beach Road, thus creating parking space for visitor vehicles (and their accompanying money).
There was one comment in the article that made sense, adding a train from the BKK airport to Pattaya.
Clearly Thai people and farangs think differently. But if Thai officials want to attract more tourists to Pattaya, and Thailand in general, they must think as their farang tourists/customers think.
Sign me again,
Disappointed and Disillusioned

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