Uncontrolled cannabis, foreign jobs, and unregistered hotels: Thai tourism faces serious threats.
The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) urged the new government to:
- Confine cannabis smokers to specific areas
- Striving to prevent foreigners from stealing local jobs in the tourism sector
- Encourage hotels to register
Ratchaporn Poolsawadee, Vice President of TCT, said:
"This year is the perfect time to restructure the tourism ecosystem to restore Thailand's unsafe image and distribute tourism revenue fairly among local operators."
Cannabis: A brake on the image of Thai tourism
Cannabis shop located in Chiang Mai's tourist district. Photo: Madelyn Swanson
Mr. Ratchaporn said the government, and the new Tourism Minister, Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn, in particular, should clearly regulate the rampant use of cannabis in major cities.
Some segments of tourists, especially families, are inconvenienced by this.
He added that a large number of foreign tourists and local teenagers illegally consume these products.
On the island of Koh Samui , there are approximately 600 cannabis shops.
The TCT does not oppose recreational cannabis use, but it should be strictly controlled in certain areas, Ratchaporn said.
Foreign workers and nominee companies in the crosshairs
A Norwegian woman was arrested on the island of Koh Phangan on March 7, 2024, while driving a taxi.
With geopolitical tensions pushing more foreigners, particularly from Russia and Israel, to settle in Thailand, he said problems with front companies and illegal foreign workers had worsened this year.
In Koh Samui, some Israelis operate tour services under the name of companies registered by nominees to provide tour guides to foreign visitors.
They have lowered their prices to compete with services provided by locals, Mr. Ratchaporn said.
Jeerayu Jarukittivorakan, secretary of the TCT, said the food delivery and transportation apps were developed by Chinese expats to exclusively serve Chinese tourists in Pattaya .
The service providers on these apps were all nominated companies run by Chinese people, he said.
Chinese-run companies often drive luxury vans or minibuses, such as Toyota Alphards, to serve their own customers, although driving public vehicles is a restricted activity, Mr. Jeerayu said.
Mr. Ratchaporn said foreign tourists could not be held solely responsible because they might not be aware of the laws.
Tourism operators also hope that Sasithorn Kittidhrakul, the new deputy interior minister, will quickly address these issues, as she is familiar with them as the former president of the Krabi .
Encourage registration of hotels and accommodations
The Maduzi Hotel in Bangkok
Another pressing issue is encouraging small accommodations and boutiques to register under the new hotel law, Ratchaporn said.
Many establishments still operate without an official license, creating unfair competition with registered hotels and depriving the state of significant tax revenue.
By regularizing their situation, these structures could not only benefit from better recognition, but also offer greater guarantees of quality and security to travelers.
See also: Thailand tourism drops: hotels forced to lower rates
Relying on domestic tourism to compensate for the decline in foreign tourism
Tourists in Phuket Old Town. Photo: The Nation Thailand
Mr. Ratchaporn added that the government should also focus more on promoting domestic tourism to offset the slowdown in foreign markets as the value of the baht has strengthened.
See: Thailand: Baht's rise linked to gold exports to Cambodia
The TCT has partnered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to launch a national bus tour program with a total budget of 3 million baht.
This program began on September 1 and will continue until October 31.
The TAT provides a subsidy of 10,000 baht (267.41 euros) per bus per day, up to a maximum of 30,000 baht (802.23 euros) per trip.
Licensed bus tours with more than 30 tourists staying at least one night in a second-tier city are eligible for this subsidy.
Without rapid responses to these issues, Thailand's attractiveness could erode in the face of regional competitors such as Vietnam and Malaysia.
See also:
Tourist Kidnappings in Thailand: Immigration Agents Complicit?
Tourism in Thailand continues to fall: -7.1% of foreign visitors
Thailand to launch emergency plan to save its tourism crisis
Rising baht threatens tourism in Thailand
Thailand: Tourism giants scale back their ambitions
Source: Bangkok Post
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8 comments
I quote Ratchaporn Poolsawadee, vice-president of the Higher Council of Tourism:
"This year is the perfect time to restructure the tourism ecosystem to restore Thailand's unsafe image." End of quote.
It is an understatement to say that Thailand's image has become so dismal and has deteriorated in less than a single year that it will drive away hundreds of thousands, if not several million, tourists in 2025 compared to the year 2025.
We will have more information on the final figures for international tourism at the end of December/beginning of January and on the decrease in foreign tourist arrivals.
As for domestic tourism, the political and economic authorities concerned with the tourism sector seem to forget that, with the help of generalized inflation, the standard of living of most Thais, which in this country, unlike most of our European countries, does not increase directly with the cost of living, has fallen and that 70% of Thais have incomes that do not allow them to take full advantage of the few public holiday periods to take vacations on the beaches, in hotels that have increased the price of their rooms by 40 to 150% depending on their star category, and to eat in restaurants that have also increased the price of traditional basic Thai dishes (Curry, Tom Yam, Khao Pat, PatThai, etc.) from 50 to 80, 100 or 120 baht...
I could go on like this for other sectors, highlighting the price increases for tourist transport by road (minibuses, agency coaches) or by sea (ferries, speedboats, longthais, etc.), the price of excursions and other services linked to tourism, etc.
The average Thai earns 10 to 20 times less than the salary of a Thai minister or senior civil servant, and many Thai ministers and parliamentarians are basically businessmen, shareholders or CEOs at the head of companies worth hundreds of millions, even billions of baht...
It is not surprising that their statements and analyses of the overall social and economic situation of 75 to 80% of the Thai population are out of step with the reality of the daily lives of the country's working population and beyond, compared to age groups beyond 60 years old, most of whom live on the bare minimum, bordering on a poverty line that affects around 6 million Thais, often dependent on their working-age children, with no social security coverage guaranteeing them a minimum pension that just allows them to feed themselves...
In short, counting on domestic tourism, even supported by state offers and random and temporary conditional promotions (as always) to compensate for the loss of income from the millions of foreign tourists who will be absent in 2025 is a hope cradled in unrealistic illusions...
It is not the "Thai Tourism Ecosystem" that needs to be reviewed, but the very foundations of the State in its political and social structures by combating the chronic diseases that are eating away at this Kingdom: elitism, social class differences, corruption at all levels, from the basement to the roof, from the employee or the police officer at the bottom of the ladder to the senior officials of the country's political and judicial apparatus and the administrations under their orders and directives, like a pyramid whose components all use each other in passing, ensuring a cover of impunity that is all the more important as one gets closer to the tip of this pyramid of personal profits and demagogic and ochlocratic influences to the detriment of a majority of manipulated crowd...
In short, the descent into hell risks continuing again and again... we just have to hope that the next elections, planned according to the current inter-party agreements, for April/May 2026 can take place in full democratic transparency, without a procedure for evicting certain parties or opposition leaders as was the case recently and that the choice of the ballot boxes and the voters will be respected, with the formation of a strong and majority government which will reflect the political reality democratically expressed by the people...
We can still dream in this country, but for how long???
When we see what is happening elsewhere on the planet, from east to west, everything indicates that we are walking backwards without looking behind us!!!
It's like in France, the salaries of disaster workers and high-level civil servants are 10 times the French minimum wage, without mentioning the advantages of this ruling "caste".
We are far from the countries of Northern Europe, alas! the new nobles….
No wonder they hold on to their place.
And always “recycled” after losing their job.
How many foreigners are detected each year trying to steal local jobs?
They'd better see the big problems.
????????????
There are many more foreigners than you think (foreigners and not farang) who work illegally or have illegal businesses... but I agree that this is not the main cause of the bad tourist situation...
Ah Ah I see, it's implied that foreigners are responsible for the decline in tourism.
Perhaps if it weren't for these foreign-run companies, there would be even fewer tourists?
They didn't think of it?
Tourist attractions are not about getting ripped off by taxis.
And if companies could be free and 100% foreign, maybe Disney would have a park, instead of the crap proposed by Thais in Bangkok.
At the same time, I'm not sure that Disney is really a step forward...
Who thinks that tourists who come to have a drink, pick up girls in bars or smoke cannabis are the right clientele...
We need more educated tourism coming to Thailand and the offers and structures to match.
That's clear, but if you take away these tourists, there won't be many people left.