PATTAYA, Thailand — Thailand’s golden tourism season is here, but instead of bustling crowds freely spending, a different reality is unfolding: tourists are holding back. The culprit? A Thai baht that is unusually strong, making even a high season in Pattaya feel unaffordable.
Long-term visitors are noticing a frustrating pattern. “It’s high season! But the baht magically drops after March and hits rock bottom in July when hardly anyone is here. Then in November, it soars again. It’s an amazing yearly coincidence,” one seasoned traveler observed. This year, however, the hoped-for currency adjustment never happened, leaving foreign visitors counting their spending carefully.
The consequences are visible on the streets. Tourists are skipping local hotspots in favor of neighboring countries where their money stretches further, like Vietnam. Even those who have tolerated Thailand’s high prices for decades admit the baht’s strength is testing patience. “I’ve been coming 15 years; the first year, it was 51 baht to the pound. Never been higher since,” a visitor noted.
Restaurants and bars, long accustomed to catering to international guests, are feeling the pinch. Patrons are seeking value more than ever, carefully weighing meals that now cost far more than in previous years. Inflation, compounded by global events like the Ukraine-Russia war disrupting grain supplies, has raised local food costs, but the strong baht means foreign tourists don’t feel as wealthy as they used to. Even wealthy visitors are spending less.
The government may celebrate the baht’s strength as a sign of economic stability, but the tourism industry sees the flip side. A strong baht is deterring tourists rather than attracting them, particularly the “cheap crowd” who once flocked to beaches, bars, and night markets.
Pattaya’s famed streets show the results: crowded in some areas yet eerily quiet in others, as tourists bypass overpriced vendors and restaurants. Traffic snarls and festive events no longer guarantee spending; a strong currency is keeping visitors at bay.
Value, it seems, is still king. Tourists will return only when they feel they are getting a fair deal. Until then, the high Thai baht is a barrier to growth, sending foreigners—and their wallets—elsewhere.
