Thai Tourism "not ready"?

[PeteC]

This is laughable. An industry that is the lifeblood of the country and those who manage it don't have a clue what they're doing. Or, perhaps they do, and joining the agreement will mean operators will have to treat tourists nicely and stop ripping people off. Pete
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ASEAN FREE TRADE
Thai tourism to stay out of Afta until 2015
By SUCHAT SRITAMA
THE NATION
Published on January 15, 2010

Thailand's tourism sector will not join the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta) until 2015 due to opposition from operators and shortage of capital.

"Among the 10 Asean countries, only Thailand is not ready to join the AFTA [tourism] scheme as many operators feel the measure would not help their business at this time," said Prakit Chinamorphong, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA).

Though Thailand's tourism industry is considered more developed than those of other Asean countries, the overall management leaves a lot to be desired. There are also inadequacies in capital and technology compared to some countries.

Starting this year, the AFTA deal will lift international trade barriers and many foreign investors are expected to expand their business into Thailand.

Some sectors like retail, food, property and electric are also joining AFTA.

Prakit said tourism operators would not benefit from joining the pact now unless they were ready to participate in the agreement.

He said operators would need at least five years to prepare for international service standards, capital investment and human skills.

Prakit added that the private sector had hired Dusit Thani College to study the impact of the opening of the tourism sector.

The college will propose to all Asean members to seal the cooperation only after the study is finished.

Chumpol Silapa-archa, Minister of Tourism and Sports, said the tourism industry should recover this year after being hit hard in 2009.

The revival of the global economy and the release of internal political tensions will be key factors in driving tourism back to normal, he said.

To cope with the rebound, the ministry plans to sign memoranda of understanding with many governments to attract tourists into the country.

"The ministry will also work closely with the private sector, as they have gone through a crisis year in 2009. We will go for hard sales in markets such as China, Japan and Korea and do soft sales in other countries," said Chumpol.

The minister added that he would ask the Cabinet to extend some tourism-recovery measures, such as waivers of visa fees, reduction of parking and landing fees for airlines and cutting entrance fees at national parks. Most the measures are scheduled to end by the end of March this year.

[Spitfire]

Agree there Pete, they might actually have to 'get their act together' properly. The Thais don't like meddling in their tourist industry, that's for sure, and not a big surprise they are dragging their heels. It's back to the paranoid thinking about forgein investment and resistance to change that we see all too often here.

While we're on the tourist theme, I think there are tourists here but they are not all where you'd expect them to be, ie Pattaya/Phuket/Samui etc. I have recently sent some time in Khon Kaen and it was full of tourists wandering around, same in Korat, hundreds of them them around in the malls and streets etc, even elderly western couples, unheard of 5 years ago, now they are everywhere you look/go. A friend of mine went to Pattaya just after New Year and said it was fairly quiet, I think a lot of people are spreading out and going to all kinds of places now, much more than they used to.

[PeteC]

Good for them if they are spreading out. They won't really experience Thailand in the resort cities.

Look for companies that specialize in up-country tours and I bet we find few.. Pete

[buksida]

Thailand's tourism sector will not join the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta) until 2015 due to opposition from operators and shortage of capital.

Call me cynical but that just reeks of extreme nationalism and protectionism, which is a very common theme here.

Though Thailand's tourism industry is considered more developed than those of other Asean countries, the overall management leaves a lot to be desired. There are also inadequacies in capital and technology compared to some countries.

Two problems are competency in English which, when compared to neighbouring countries (specifically Malaysia and the Philippines which compete for tourists with Thailand), is below par and so is the technological infrastructure. Even Laos and Cambodia have 3G now while Thai bureaucrats are still squabbling over who is going to make the most money from it.

Looks like more time spent in reverse again.