Thailand Tourism

Thailand has been voted as the World’s Best Tourist Country in the Norwegian Grand Travel Awards 2007 held in Oslo, Norway earlier this month, according to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry said that the Thai Embassy in Oslo reported that it is the fourth consecutive year Thailand won the annual award organised by Travel News Magazine of Norway. Greece, Denmark and Italy ranked second, third and fourth respectively.

Alongside this recognition, the Pattaya Daily News – one of the many publications in Thailand with a serious stake in the tourist economy – has today published an upbeat overview of the tourist industry’s “resilience”.  This article includes a few thoughts on future directions:

The maturity of cheap regional airlines will extend accessibility to remote Thai destinations while the possibility of a single-visa system for the region offers much scope. In Asia, there are now three such schemes being considered [including] the “Five Countries, One Destination” initiative adopted by Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar…The prospects of sustainable tourism are looking favourable, but greater consideration must be given to the potential environmental impact in order to come into line with global consciousness, even if it requires compromise measures.

Overall, the prospects for Thai tourism continue to be encouraging. After all, the unique appeal of climate, affable people and diverse tourist attractions are hard to beat and will ensure Thailand’s popularity indefinitely, barring outrageous developments.

It is immediately clear to even the freshest visitor that Thailand enjoys a remarkable tourist economy.  Through thick and thin, it has continued to attract increasing millions of foreign visitors as each decade has rolled by.  Cambodia, Laos and Burma have, until recently, all looked on enviously and seen the Thais reap the lucrative profits (and associated problems) that tourism brings.  These days, almost everybody wants a piece of the tourism pie.  There is much (as yet) unwritten scholarly work that could really contribute to understanding this industry and its role in shaping political, social and economic forces across the region.

As the Pattaya Daily Mail article makes clear, tourism (in its many forms) is almost certainly set to continue its onward march.  And so even if they are repulsed by the excesses of the industry – and try to ignore its impositions on what some might naively see as their turf – anybody who is serious about studying mainland Southeast Asia cannot ignore this scene.

Students of modern Southeast Asia can run from tourism but – almost no matter where they go or what they do – they can never hide…

As reports emerged indicating that tourism is almost 40% more than last year, the Asian Development Bank announced that Thailand’s economy is already set, that tourism is finally back on the rise as the summer holidays not lacking.

Thailand has seen the recent crisis devastated the tourism industry is to invest quickly in the tourism sector, to try to revitalize and to convince tourists to come visit the land of smiles increasingly popular.

With a greater focusA short travel plans for 2010 and beyond, Thailand is looking for ways to be pragmatic with the much smaller number of visitors, and country, the practical approach, including the payment of dividends to tourism has collected.

At the height of the slowdown in tourism, the Thai government has revealed a number of measures in efforts to promote the spot on Thailand, billions of baht on promotional offers, discounts and free visas for tourists.

Until recently, these incentiveshave been stabilized with little effect because of the recent history of instability in Thailand, but lately the political situation is clearly a great international popularity.

At a time in Bangkok and Chiang Mai voted in two of the best cities in the world that are independent tests, these economic relations were to be reassured, at least a little ‘, the number of foreign and Thai-owned tourism companies operating in Thailandwas hard hit by declining tourism.

Still valid with lots of special offers for tourists, it is the rainy season now upon us, the beginning of the annual off season in Thailand, and tourist centers such as Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui and Chiang Mai are all signals to scream tourists.

During the rainy season is already here, is a perfect opportunity for a relaxing holiday in the beautiful country of Thailand and you see all over the country mustOffer consistent respect, peace and intact. Thailand is in some way at its best during the rainy season, when the fields are green and growing rice.

Did you know: weather in Thailand has three seasons: the hot season, the rainy season and the hot season! The worst of the rainy season in Thailand is about three or four months from August to November, and chances are, it is not nearly as wet as you think!

In the rainy season is usually daily precipitation more than 3 or 4Hours, followed by non-stop rain in the evening. Bring an umbrella and enjoy!

Bully’s Pub Thanksgiving Buffet
I have walked past Bully’s pub at least 100 times as it’s on the way to the gym I usually work out at.  It is located right on Sukhumvit Road in between Soi 2 and 4.  You can’t miss it as there is a life-sized brass bull in front (see picture above).  I thought it was an expat and tourist bar so I figured it was overpriced and filled with drunk Ausies, Europeans and Americans so I never really had the urge to go.  This changed when I was invited for a Thanksgiving all-you-can-eat buffet by my neighbor Jan who is a fellow travel blogger at TravelWithJan.com

There was no way I be eating Thai noodle soup on the biggest eating day of any American’s year so I gladly accepted the invitation.  I arrived to Bully’s Pub around 7:15pm after my Thai Language class and luckily it was not that busy.  I stacked up my plate with all the Thanksgiving regular foods including mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, yams, ham and of course gravy.  I stuffed my face with the delicious Thanksgiving foods as I met Jan’s friends.  One of Jan’s friends happened to be like me, another photographer hobbyist with a photo website which you can see at HowardKreiger.com

After I returned from Bully’s Pub that night I went online to see reviews.  One review sparked my attention as it said Bully’s Pub had a large American breakfast which has been one of the very few things I have missed from America during my 8 months so far in Thailand.

Big American Breakfast
I went to bed looking forward to the next morning when I could dig into a big greasy American breakfast.  After going to bed around 2am I woke up unusually early around 9am.  I checked a few emails and headed out the door around 10m towards Bully’s pub and when I got there it wasn’t open yet!  I was aggravated that I’d have to wait until 11am to get my breakfast but luckily there is a Starbucks across the street which I headed to to drink a coffee while I waited.

The American breakfast comes with 2 large pieces of toast, 2 eggs done any way you like, 2 sausage patties, 2 slices of bacon and potatoes which were made on the skillet with bell peppers and onions.  The American breakfast at Bully’s also comes with coffee/tea and juice which I special ordered a orange/pineapple mix.  The portion size was just like I wanted it and I found myself having trouble finishing although the giant coffee I drank 20 minutes before at Starbucks may have had something to do with it.

Overall Impression
I’m not really into the bar scene so I pretty much ignored Bully’s Pub and now that I’ve eaten there twice I can say if you’re used to American sized portions Bully’s is a good place to get filled up.  As far as bars go, the place was very big and spacious with multiple flat screen TVs playing sports along with a couple pool tables.

Bully’s Pub is probably the best place in Bangkok (so far) to refuel and begin to reduce that Saturday or Sunday morning hangover.  If you’re really hungry at breakfast time, Bully’s Pub’s breakfast is the perfect thing to get in the morning to fuel you up for a day of whatever Bangkok has to offer you.  The price was 180 baht but after the standard 10% 20 baht tip it came out to 200 baht (around $6 USD) which is double most “American breakfasts” served around Bangkok but Bully’s is twice the size and twice the grease;)