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[Foggy Bottom]

Some of the reasons for the decline in tourism in the north .....

Overdevelopment of cities such as Chiangmai whilst not adding daytime activities for tourists within the cities themselves - not everyone wants to spend all day crammed into a minibus driven by a suicidal maniac

Greed of the locals, especially taxi drivers - example the (still) published official fare by Songthaew within any city's limits throughout Thailand is 8 Baht. Until 2000-2001, most songthaews had stickers to this effect in the passenger compartment, but stories of songthaews demanding upto 100 baht from tourists (e.g. night bazzaar to Thapae gate) are common nowadays - even tuk tuks charge less than that.

"Improvement of facilities" so that all the sub-300 baht per night guest houses are becoming 500-1500 baht per night hotels. The north's traditional budget travellers cannot afford these rates.

Conversion of tourists from independant travellers (who spend their money all over the place in "small" businesses), to large chapperoned tour groups spending the 2.6 days average stay in the big hotels and only being taken to authorised sights - never seeing the "real" north or businesses.

The Social Order Policy which has effectively shut down Chiangmai from midnight each night without thought for the body-clock time zone differences of tourists who have jetted across 5-8 time zones in under 12 hours. Such that the time at which this government shuts everything down is the body-clock time at which tourists are just starting to think about going out for the evening.

There's more, but it just continues to show that this government is so blinkered that they're intent on killing their cash cows in the name of nationalism.

Effects outside their control includes global paranoia about "islamic countries" (ie the South), SARS, Bird Flue, Tsunami factor, the Iraq & Afghan wars on terror, Taksin's War on Drugs and associated human rights criticism in western press, murder of tourists and expats by Thai cops - all making heavy press in the west, etc

Most tourism facility development in the north has been geared at Thai tourists rather than foreign tourists - hence the "classy" hotels used to boast about non-existent wealth or status by the tourists. Tied to this are the racist policies of dual pricing at natural assets such as waterfalls and parks, as well as temples and museums etc.

Plus tourists ain't as dumb as we often paint them - e.g. having seen lacquerware in the night bazaar at 100 - 200 baht for certain items, having a trekking company then drop them off at the factory showroom bearing price tags of 1000-1500 baht for the same designs sets a certain resentment into the tourists - one that is repeated to friends when they get back home.

Old English Adage - A happy customer will tell one or two people, an unhappy one will tell 10 - 20 people.

[johng]

Gaz Chiangmai : Good post,... although I don't live in the north. most of your comments apply equally to Pattaya
( where I live for now ) and most likely to the whole of Thailand.

Edited by johng, 2005-05-27 02:51:30.