Tourism chief paints a rose tinted picture of Pattaya tourism
The chief of business and tourism for Pattaya has been interviewd and quoted as saying that Pattaya tousist numbers are booming, to the bemusement of many.
Thai social media also picked up on the interview and were just as bemused as we are. The chief was quoted as saying “We can now smile” which I can only imagine most of your are doing now at this headline.
It is believed the chief was fprced into making a public statement after recent news reports from main media sources as well as online social media have severely dented Pattaya’s already failing reputation.
The statement, which was obviously supposed to be a vote of confidence, has looked like it has backfired, however, with people simply laughing off the suggestion that Pattaya is booming
One thing that the chief did get right in the interview was the fact that Chinese tour buss agencies are booming, and are easily the biggest pull for the tourism numbers.
He then moved back to European’s claiming that the tourism numbers were up 10%.
Up 10% on what, from when, where etc. is anybody’s guess as he did not elaborate to much. It’s almost as if the number was pulled out of thin air, but that just wouldn’t happen now, would it?
The obvious focus of the Pattaya tourism authorities is for the FIT travellers, or “free independant traveller” to increase. These are people not on tours.
It is well known that these tour bus tourists spend very little money whilst they are here, as pretty much everything is paid for upfront, leaving local business owners empty handed.
The chief went on to claim that these FIT tourists are up 30%.
Again 30% on what is anybody’s guess as he did not elaborate, but it all just seems that pie in the sky.
The chief did fail to comment on the fact that even though it’s coming up to “high season”, hotel prices have remained low and there seems to be an oversupply of hotel rooms in Pattaya.
This is something that we can all be assured on is increasing each year, with no doubts.
