Will prices in Hua Hin fall to encourage spending?

[Khundon1975]

Just to add another facet: Media reports indicate a sharp drop in tourism but try getting a flight ex UK to Bangkok in January or February. Very few seats available and the prices are high e.g. British Airways £1,040 economy return!

I just wonder if the doom and gloom about the high season has been exaggerated by the media!

Very few things have dropped back to the levels existing prior to the surge in oil prices. Such reductions rarely occur. Part of the reason is that we, the public, have been prepared to continue paying the higher prices - I am not referring to domestic essentials. Today we have a different scenario as the Baht is strong (why) and tourists and ex-pats living here on income from abroad are getting less Baht and that, coupled with higher prices could force a re-think but don't hold your breath!

Airfare prices are definately coming down, i was priced by BA, 2 days ago, London-Bangkok-London mid February for 600 notes, this is a very good deal, my missus paid, or rather i paid £800 to fly with Emirates in November and this is with a stop, BA fly direct

Cathay price with one stop mid Feb return mid March £480 cattle class though.
I doubt that taxis, motor bike taxis etc will drop there prices despite the drop in fuel prices, it's just the way Thais think, grab it while it's going.

Same thinking here in UK by power suppliers, oil down from record high to now around $40 a barrel but gas and electric continue to be at highest prices ever, as for fuel, it took the large supermarkets like Tesco etc who lowered fuel prices first, then Esso, BP etc had to follow.

I think Thailand is in for a rough ride for a while.
Hang in there guys.

[lee808]

I've actually booked a flight now with Etihad, 6 month return departing UK 4th Feb, 2 hour stop in Abu Dhabi, £380 !!!

Cattle class though, which i presume from the previous poster means economy ?

To be honest i would have to be absolutely loaded to want to pay an extra £500 pounds or whatever for a first class seat anyway, for the sake of a pair of deluxe slippers and about 6 inches more leg room, how longs the flight 11 hrs? i can suffer it for 11hrs being hearded up like a cattle !!

[buksida]

This thread was really about actual prices of stuff in Hua Hin which are vastly inflated compared to other areas of Thailand. Not really anything to do with flights.

Look in any shop in downtown Hua Hin for any regular items such as cameras, household appliances, golf equipment, computer hardware, books, etc etc. The prices will be a good 20-30% higher than say Pranburi or Petchaburi. Then there are the services and activities such as taxis and transport, golf, trips and tours, tailors, and any service offered by small businesses in Hua Hin - a fair chunk more than for the same service elsewhere.

Now I realise that 'double H' is a tourist town and expect some inflation but now with tourism down the pan you'd think they would start being more competitive with pricing. Even the big hotels are still charging triple peak season rates for 'walk-ins' when they're 80% vacant.

Then there are fuel costs which pretty much govern the prices of most things. Petrol prices are the lowest they've been for at least ten years yet idle tuk-tuk drivers still want 200 baht for a 3 minute ride.

Greed I think is the bottom line in this fair town.

[sandman67]

Greed or short sightedness? There's a topic for debate

[Super Joe]

There's definately a case of the old short sighted "business is down so increase prices" but many of the businesses are after tourists money more than ours. We go down the market use a bit of Thai and pay 150B for a 250B t-shirt, tourists pay 230B and are happy.

Hua Hin's overall cost of living is still cheaper than Bangkok, Phuket or Samui, plus it's a friendly family resort so popular with tourists. Most tourists still think it's cheap here, maybe golf excepted, and still pay these prices.

Parents (not wealthy, just ordinary joe's) just left yesterday, they used tuk-tuk's everyday, not once did they think they were expensive or being ripped off, whereas we would notice as Buks commented.

It's getting more expensive here and as it gets more developed with your Market Village's, Villa Market's, Starbucks', flashy/shiny new restaurants/shops etc replacing older Thai places etc etc.

My opinion, as I've posted before, 10 odd years time when further developed (ie: new airport or more local routes from existing one, my wife and her families approval comes through for their water park etc etc) Hua Hin will become Thailand's top resort, which IMO is currently Phuket. Then we'll have pricing to really worry about, and those with property/land within 4-5km's from town will be laughing.

SJ