Tourism is a huge industry in Thailand. According to the Bangkok post:
Pongpanu Svetarundra, permanent secretary for the Tourism and Sports Ministry, said visitors in August generated 163 billion baht in revenue, up 11.7% from the same month a year earlier. In August, the number of visitors from East Asia increased 10% from a year earlier to 2.26 million, with nearly 1 million from China, up 10.3%.
Numbers from the Middle East rose 19.4% to 103,784 in August, while those from Europe were flat, at 437,739. Mr Pongpanu said Thailand welcomed 23.54 million foreign tourists from January to August, up 5.36% from the same period last year.
Revenue from foreign tourists in the first eight months rose 7.47% to 1.19 trillion baht.
The government has forecast about 35 million tourist arrivals this year, an increase from 2016's record 32.6 million. Tourism accounts for 12% of Thailand's GDP.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1327455/tourism-resilient-despite-baht
The number of tourists, and the type of tourist is bound to have an impact on Thailand and the Thai people. Thailand only has a population of 69 million people, so throughout the year, the tourists push the number of people in Thailand up by over 50%. These farangs will definitely change the country as the Thai ramp up to service the tourists. I can't help but think it won't be for the better.
Why, the old rules of supply and demand will push up the cost of everything. The baht has been appreciating against other currencies this year which makes Thailand less of a bargain. Add in the supply and demand curves and prices will also rise from the cost of a tuk tuk ride to the price of a street meal. These new tourists will also be less Thai savvy and will fall prone to the farang price, rather than the usual Thai price.
I think, if you are interested in seeing the old Thailand, you should do so within the next year, as I think the old Thailand is rapidly evolving into something else. Not sure what it will look like, will it be better or worse.
As always, I will be watching and reporting on what trends I see. The latest trend is away form the busloads of Chinese tourists who follow the flag bearing tour leader en mass, spending little money to smaller groups of 2-6 Chinese tourists travelling on their own, with money to spend.
I have seen single Chinese tourists in the bar throwing 20 baht bills at the girls, while laughing at the melee that he created. I can't say I like that scene as I find it demeaning to the ladies scrambling for less than a dollar. To each their own, but times are a changing and I suspect that he will have to pony up with 100 baht notes in the near future.
This article in the Atlantic is an interesting read:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/how-ugly-chinese-tourists-became-new-ugly-americans/314773/
An excerpt:
The past few years have been great for China's economy, meaning more money to spend on travel. "In 2012, Chinese overtook Americans and Germans as the world's top international tourism spenders, with 83 million people spending a record $102 billion on international tourism," CNN reported last month. More Chinese tourists traveling make Chinese tourists more visible, and that gives people around the world the templates to start a stereotype. And just like the Americans who were rude and demanding when the dollar was strong, so too are the Chinese. "Rich Chinese tourists are pushing the boundaries and unfortunately some of these places are bending to their will ... Particularly the newly rich, who think, 'If I'm paying money then I'm God,'" as Mei Zhang, the owner of a Chinese travel told CNN.
TTYL
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