Thailand has continuously been a major stop on everyone’s holiday plans to Asia. Pattaya is one of the top cities to visit for lots of people visiting the nation. This is one town that has only been a big destination due to it’s untamed night life and less than stellar ex-pat community. This is not a depiction that the local government likes and they have been working persistently to change it.
The Pattaya city government has been trying to change the city’s image into a more family friendly destination that all can enjoy. They are slowly pushing the beer bars back or knocking them down so that they can put up new shopping malls and high rise hotels.
One thing that keeps a lot of tourists away is the poor infrastructure of Pattaya, but they are working to improve that as well.
The city has also been on a major advertisement campaign around the world. In an effort to get visitors from all-around the globe to try something new and enjoy South East Asia travel. This has led to a huge influx of travelers from across these regions. However whether this is actually a good decision is up to debate. A big criticism of these new breed of tourists is that they don’t spend the same amount of money that the others did.
Instead of going out to visit the new shopping malls and spending lots of money these tourists are quite happy sitting on the beach all day. They are replacing a group of visitors that spends large amounts of money on food, drink, and a lavish lifestyle while they are in town. It is hard to replace the later without having a severe impact on local businesses.
There is a big debate going on as to whether this decision was a smart one or if they should return to the old ways of attracting tourists. This new advertising could be the downfall of a once profitable tourist industry.