The great Pattaya crash...

[manarak]

I have seen many empty bars in Pattaya, some closed.
This has to be the worst high season ever.
I saw very few people from Europe or the USA, but more russians, pakis and ragheads.

I have also insight into other businesses, and European and USA business are very depressed at the moment (not just adult biz).

Many businesses suffer, and I am wondering if these are just the last ones to pickup speed again or if they are like the canary birds in a mine and are really announcing a crash.

[spare wheel]

(manarak @ Dec. 14 2010,20:37) I saw very few people from Europe or the USA, but more russians, pakis and ragheads.

Id be careful how you label people Manarak.
Theres lots of people on furom who don't like that shit.

I know from answering a thread once on 69 and ended up been blogged and having all my personal details put onto blog !

just my 2 cents worth  

[f0xxee]

Funny thing, where Patts is suffering, Patong (I hear) and HH are doing ok. (HH is down on previous years but not out. My real estate guru tells me rentals are up sales are down.)

I guess Patong gets the young Aussies who are doing it large with a strong dollar. And HH has a LOT of oldies who own houses there and go there every year.
My guess is that Patts suffers from the the fact the things are austere in GB and Europe, and the happy mongers of yesteryear are saving their money as they feel insecure.

Just a guess mind you. I have absolutely no evidence to back this up.

[Jake_Sully]

But it is reasonable conjecture.

[deepthroat]

I shudder at the racial epithets myself, but to answer the question - my business was the best it's ever been in 2010.

[strocube]

Most people in my circles here in so. Cal are prospering, for the most part. People are buying houses, taking vacations, buying boats, etc.

[Jake_Sully]

Where I am is terrible. That being New York. I know a family business that went through 4 customers total for the month of November. In New York City. Great location. Rock Bottom Prices. Worst month they've had.

Glad you're doing well though DT.

[azza33]

The answer to your question lies in your misunderstanding of the demographics of tje pattaya tourist market.

[f0xxee]

(azza33 @ Dec. 15 2010,01:26) The answer to your question lies in your misunderstanding of the demographics of tje pattaya tourist market.

Ah Azza,

If you are going to make a statement like that then how about telling us what the demographic is?

Don't keep us hanging for the next installment!

[daveduke007]

Hmmm, my mate who has been in Pattaya since August says things seem to be picking up this last week

[deepthroat]

I think they're trying to get prime seating for the PPOP and GOTC parties....

[Bumpa STIKKA]

Moved from The Fish Box...

Ah... the demographic of Pattaya... of course there's no such thing. Pattaya is just a market place for crooks and spivs.

[azza33]

With every day that passes pattaya grows stronger...

[pacman]

A bad High Season in Pattaya will cause many businesses to close. As 2011 is predicted to bring tougher trading conditions around the world than we had this year, there is no relief in site for battered bars, clubs & hotels.

How this will impact on the P4P business is hard to know. I think we will have to adjust to a smaller scene with less bars & clubs vying for less business.

That in turn will get many girls looking elsewhere as Pattaya cannot support all of them now.

If things stay flat for a number of years, I wonder what sort of scene there will be left. As bars close & girls leave, what will take their place? I know the Chonburi Council has grand plans to make Pattaya a shopping paradise but the shops are struggling now.

No one is going to build another giant shopping centre or bar complex. There are still 1000's of empty condos that haven't been sold since they were built.

One possibility is the western tourists will be replaced by Chinese. I saw Chinese tourist buses arriving in Pattaya every day, that is, every time I was on Beach Road at any time of the day or night. Giant buses full of 'em.

I wondered where they stayed, where they ate, as I saw them only occasionally. Groups of Chinese being led by a tour guide holding a flag aloft is a common sight in places they visit. They were conspicuous by their absence on the streets of Pattaya.

Getting back on topic, the next few years will see massive disruption to the status quo around the globe. Banks will close, markets will 'correct', iconic businesses will be found to be insolvent, there is world of pain awaiting investors who see no danger in going on as they are.

I don't expect Armageddon but life as we know it is in for a hell of a ride.

[deepthroat]

Sounds like Y2K all over again. There's tons of guys with brand new generators still sitting unopened in their basements (or bomb shelters) that continue to wait for the long-promised "end times".

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. My view is that it's a wonderful world of opportunities right now, and probably into the foreseeable future.

One man's worldwide meltdown is another's fire sale I guess.

If I were a Pattaya bar owner, I'd be looking to the Chinese and Indian markets. That's probably got a bigger upside in the next 20 years than the American/European market. There's still a lot of prejudice towards the Indian customer in particular, but that will change when they begin to "show (them) the money".