What is it like to travel on a budget in Thailand?

A coconut is 15 yuan, the starting price of a taxi is 40 yuan, and a pair of slippers is 45 yuan

Took a taxi 28 times, and at least 20 times we encountered someone who didn’t use the meter and asked us if we were Chinese

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I just went to Thailand and bought coconuts for 80 yuan. Later I found that the scenic spots sold them for 50 yuan, and the ones on the roadside were cheaper, only selling for 30 yuan

......

Netizens said , is this Sanya?

No, this is Thailand, a country that once became popular through budget travel.

A coconut in Thailand’s floating market costs RMB 30

I rushed to travel on a budget

The result was RMB 5,000 per person per week

Just look at the data and you’ll know How enthusiastic are Chinese tourists about outbound travel:

Recent data provided by Air Travel Zongheng shows that since the outbound group tour pilot was restarted on February 6, the number of inbound and outbound civil aviation passengers by domestic airlines has exceeded 27.6% million, an increase of nearly 4.4 times over the same period last year.

For the first time in a long time, long queues began to form in the entry and exit permit halls in various places. Data shows that from January 9 to February 8, the first month after permit applications were resumed, the Shanghai Entry-Exit Administration Department accepted more than 380,000 entry-exit documents for Chinese citizens, a record high.

Once I passed by the certification hall at 12 noon and saw a long queue at the door. The security guard looked very helpless and could only keep shouting "It's off work, off work, come back in the afternoon!"

The Pattaya Night Market in Thailand is crowded

From the perspective of outbound travel routes, Southeast Asian countries, led by Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, etc., are still the most popular overseas destinations for Chinese tourists. destination. Airports of Thailand recently stated that approximately 161,000 Chinese tourists have visited Thailand since January 8, and it is estimated that this number is expected to exceed 1 million by August this year.

After three years of absence, when a large number of tourists flocked to Thailand again, they all lamented:

“Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are not so fun anymore.”

“Thailand Thailand is no longer what it was three years ago.”

“A trip to Thailand costs three times more than it did three years ago.”

Thailand Night Market

The most obvious manifestation is air tickets.

In early February, there was only one direct flight from Beijing to Bangkok every day, and the fare was nearly 4,000 yuan. I had to choose to transfer in Xiamen, but even so, the round-trip air ticket still cost 4,742 yuan.

It is understood that for those who spend more than 10,000 yuan in two or three days, usually the bulk of the expenditure is air tickets. Comparing the few hundred yuan we spent before 2020, my friends and I lamented, how dare we "just leave"?

The high price of direct air tickets from Beijing to Bangkok makes many people choose to transfer on the way

The second is the housing price.

Open the hotel reservation software, and the hotels in Bangkok that are marked with "government health certification" start at almost 400 or 500 yuan. Occasionally, there are one or two room types that show around 300 yuan, but they are always full.

This is still a normal working day.

Hotels in Phuket are more expensive. Staying there for two nights, plus hotels in Chiang Mai, phone cards, visa fees...

It will cost you even before departure. Lost almost 10,000 yuan.

A list of hotel prices in Phuket on ordinary working days

Daily travel is also a pain: a taxi costs 500 baht, pineapple fried rice and tom yum goong 600 baht, and you can buy seven or eight for shopping. 4,000 baht (1 baht is approximately equal to 0.196 RMB, and the total is equivalent to approximately 800 RMB).

In the past, freshly squeezed juice on the roadside only cost 10 to 20 baht (about 2 to 4 yuan). This year, it costs 60 baht (about 12 yuan), which is similar to that in first- and second-tier cities in China.

The price list of an ordinary Thai restaurant

The Tourism Authority of Thailand once released data, “The current price of air tickets to and from key cities in Thailand and China is 1.5 times that before the epidemic, while Chinese tourists per The average cost of a trip has also soared from 50,000 to 54,000 baht to 60,000 or even 150,000 baht,” which is about 12,000 to 30,000 yuan.

Netizens laughed at themselves, "It has been three years since the epidemic, but my income has not kept up with the price increase in Thailand!"

The first batch of tourists to go to Thailand

Starting to regret it?

When I searched for "Thailand travel" on social media, I saw that many netizens had been deceived and expressed regret for coming to Thailand. Why?

Because the price of the former "poor man's paradise" has increased, the former value for money is gone.

If you analyze the reasons for the soaring cost of tourism in Thailand:

The first step in price increase: the money-making tree of short-lived tourist spots-the internet celebrity effect.

On social media, there are fantastic descriptions of overseas travel before the epidemic:

A visa on arrival in Thailand can be obtained in 30 minutes, a set of clothes costs 50 yuan, a whole Yiwu sale, suspenders Coconut juice in a small skirt, it’s summer all year round, riding in the evening breeze, a poor man’s affordable convertible sports car, this is not a foreign country, it is clearly a cost-effective paradise!

I feel like bloggers won’t be able to keep up with the hot spots if they don’t go to Thailand.

It feels like bloggers have all gone to Thailand

The second step to increase prices: make the leek plate bigger - the crowd tactic

Then on various roads Led by internet celebrities, a large wave of people rushed towards Thailand.

On the morning of March 11, a luxury cruise ship "Spectrum of the Seas" carrying tourists from many countries docked at the Patong Bay Pier in Phuket Province, Thailand, bringing new things to Phuket. Thousands of tourists.

According to the person in charge of the Koh Samui Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, 308,303 Chinese tourists will enter Koh Samui in 2022, with an average consumption of 14,000 baht per person. It is expected that 300,000 Chinese tourists will enter Koh Samui in the first quarter of 2023, and 5 million Chinese tourists are expected to travel to Thailand throughout the year.

Tourists who have not traveled abroad in three years also choose Thailand as the cheapest and most convenient first destination.

Thailand’s floating markets and night markets are one of the favorite places for tourists

The third step to increase prices: don’t make cheap products, make luxury goods

Although Thailand has become a popular tourist destination again, its tourism industry is still in a state of restarting.

Not only do we have to recruit back the laid-off service staff, but we also need to re-establish contact with the broken supply chain and travel agencies, not to mention that many vendors need to re-purchase a lot of food before they can go out. equipment.

Thailand’s tourism industry has been hit hard by the three-year epidemic. Restaurants, hotels, diving agencies, and travel companies have closed down in droves, and many farmers’ stalls, taxis, etc. have also disappeared. . A private tour guide said that during that time, there were almost no people on the streets of Bangkok, and even the wild dogs that scavenged the night market food waste disappeared.

Reviving tourism could cost a lot of money.

The driver can only earn a certain amount of profit by using the meter in a regular manner, but if the "fixed price" rule is used, as long as someone pays for it, his service can earn more additional profits.

Bangkok is very big and very congested. For tourists from some European and American countries, the driver charges one or two thousand baht during peak hours. They will only think it is "deadly cheap" and they will feel happy to shout okok every time. At the same time, it has also spoiled the traffic toll market. In addition to regulated taxi-hailing software, traditional Thai taxis, tutu cars, and motorcycles are simply unwilling to give up profits and choose to clearly mark their prices.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Naturally, local transportation operators are too lazy to deal with tourists who cannot afford big bucks.

Chiang Mai Souvenir Supermarket

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Anutin once talked about the development direction of Thailand’s tourism industry. He said that Thailand’s tourism must change to make tourists feel that it is cheaper to come. The current situation of tourism in Thailand requires tourists to come with the purpose of making Thailand worthy of traveling and spending money. In one sentence, "Thailand's tourism industry should not make cheap products, but make luxury products."

Anutin’s words carry a lot of weight, especially when it comes to Thailand’s tourism industry, because he is the deputy prime minister in charge of Thailand’s tourism industry.

He said this in July 2022. Faced with the current situation of Thailand's tourism, we can see that this "transformation" seems to have begun - adding "high-priced travel" packages In terms of proportion, we should organize more entry welcome ceremonies for "high-quality tourists". Wealthy and high-income VIPs may feel that they are worth their money in the high-priced match.

I can’t comment on this policy. To borrow a sentence from a netizen:

In terms of connotation and sentiment, Thailand is one of the best in the world. But if you want to force yourself to be more luxurious and high-end, this is comparable to India, which has installed toilets...

Don't rush to become a leek abroad

Look at the volume of domestic tourism< /p>

Overseas travel has just begun. People here are rushing to go, and people there are rushing to accept it.

When tourism rejuvenates, it’s not just about prices that rejuvenate, but quality as well. So, if you wait a little longer and let the bullets fly for a while, won’t our country, China, enjoy it?

Domestic tourism has many volumes, just look at the director of the Tourism Bureau and you will know.

Heilongjiang Tahe, the director of the local culture and tourism bureau wore Oroqen costumes to act as "the master of the forest" at minus 20 degrees Celsius to represent the scenery of his hometown. Du Bo, the person involved, said that after two hours of shooting, the final film was only ten seconds long, and it was also trending.

A short video titled "Who am I" released by the Daofu County Culture and Tourism Bureau in Sichuan went viral. Director Jiangze Duoji appeared on the scene, seamlessly switching between Chinese and English to introduce the beautiful scenery of Daofu County.

Jiangze Duoji, director of the Cultural Tourism Bureau of Daofu County, Sichuan, appeared

As soon as the video came out, many cultural and tourism directors in Sichuan Province laughed and lamented that it was too rolly.

What’s more impressive than the director of the Tourism Bureau is our vast land and abundant resources: if you want to experience the streets of Southeast Asia at more than 20 degrees Celsius, you can spend 2,000 yuan to see the Gold and Silver Pagoda, eat Dai cuisine, and soak in hot springs in Mangshi, Yunnan (There are no fancy attractions, it’s mainly about leisure);