rickfarang Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 (Sounds familliar -note that it was said that the Elite program will continue) From Bangkok Post online. Thursday, Oct 12, 2006 http://www.bangkokpost.net/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=113521 Thailand's newly appointed tourism and sports minister said Wednesday he would target the quality of tourists, not their quantity, as there was a need to protect the natural environment. Suwit Yodmanee spoke to reporters regarding his proposed work strategies, saying he welcomed suggestions from related government agencies to develop the country's tourism as well as to solve problems. The new minister promised to continue ongoing tourism promotion programmes such as Thailand Elite, Long Stay and Thailand Riviera, which he praised as 'very good schemes'. However, the minister dismissed speculation on dividing tourism functions from sports in separate ministries, saying there was no urgent need to do this during the interim government. The most urgent task, he said, is to get a new governor for the Tourism Authority of Thailand. ''We must get it done as quickly as possible. The selection process shouldn't take longer than three months,'' he said, promising equal treatment for both internal and external candidates. ''I know that there are some internal candidates who are qualified,'' he said. As for the coming fiscal year's budget, the minister said he would negotiate with the Bureau of Budget the best he could,as the bureau has criticised the ministry for proposing a figure that was too large. ''We must negotiate for the best figure to fund our task," Mr. Suwit said. "I expect the budget to be available early next year,''. (TNA) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 sounds like a big joke to me! was recently in Jomtien and say many busloads of asian tourists driven from low cost budget hotels to mass tourism places like elephant camps, folk dances etc. There is a big mass tourism industry aimed at the average 4-5 days asian tourist in the backyard of Pattaya with a very high trhoughput of hundreds thousands of folks each year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristianTroy Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Nonsense times 1,000,000 Thai Airways and other companies just invested billions into the new airport, they don't give a sh*t if someone is a quality tourist or a stupid bloke! they want their machines packed, the same want the hotels, the restaurants and the bars! If that tourism dude want to survive he better doesn't say things like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 [quote name=rickfarang Thailand's newly appointed tourism and sports minister said Wednesday he would target the quality of tourists' date=' not their quantity, as there was a need to protect the natural environment. (TNA)[/quote] That should put an end to environmental problems then So basically by using the term quality, he means fewer tourists with each one paying more dollars. Quality equals money, I guess I shouldn`t be surprised. hn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 By quality, they mean folks like Prince Christoff von Hohenlohe, for whom they rolled out the red carpet ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 The guy who died in prison after having making some "adjustments" to the expiry date of his visa? Yup, I am sure that his fate would attract some quality tourists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simie Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 As others have said we have heard this nonsense so many times before. And every time there is some type of scare, SARS, chicken flu, tsunami and tourists getting murdered/raped or terrorist scares etc and the "quality" tourists stay at home its the so called low quality tourists such as sex tourists and smelly backpackers who help keep things ticking over. Simie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 As others have said we have heard this nonsense so many times before. And every time there is some type of scare, SARS, chicken flu, tsunami and tourists getting murdered/raped or terrorist scares etc and the "quality" tourists stay at home its the so called low quality tourists such as sex tourists and smelly backpackers who help keep things ticking over. Simie. Yes..its is al about *the money*...tourists bring heaps of it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 simie, I agree. The so-called 'quality tourists' are the first to stay away from the LOS or any other country when things like Sars, Bird Flu, and coups take place. I'd like to see the numbers for what the 'average' Thai spends on domestic tourism, of which there is quite a bit in the country from what I have seen. Why is it that a foreigner needs to be spending much more than the average Thai when staying at hotels, eating the food, and touring the country on holiday? How does this make a 'quality' tourist, when the Thais themselves are apt to stay at inexpensive places, eat cheap food, and try to be frugal when on holiday themselves? All tourists spend money. As long as they are not breaking the laws of the country I would think all would be welcomed, as it all helps their tourism industry at different levels. Cent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Hope Samui profits from this, NOT. What's happening is that Samui finally got what it always wanted, mass tourism. Problem is, too many are on a budget and don't have a lot to spend. Add hte controversy about land ownership and how difficult the Thai govmnt it makes to stay here, it doesn't look like it's gonna get a lot better. My hopes are towards the current or the next govnmt to turn things around and make things better but I have my doubts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.