It has been one full month since the country resumed the pilot program of outbound group tours.
As one of the 20 destinations for the pilot group tour, Thailand has been the most popular international tourist destination in the past month.
However, this place was once regarded by Chinese tourists as a "poor resort", but now it has become the focus of complaints from the first wave of outbound tourists.
"Thailand, where I used to travel poorly, is now too high for me to climb." Recently, the overall price increase of Thailand tours has sparked heated discussions.
After three years, what happened to the first wave of Zhejiang tourists who traveled abroad to Thailand?
A reporter from Qianjiang Evening News interviewed many Zhejiang tourists and tour guides.
The house price of 200 yuan has risen to 300 yuan, and some people lament that it has risen much
Xiaoou, a native of New Hangzhou, is engaged in foreign trade.
Before the epidemic, Xiao Ou went to Thailand almost twice a year.
After three years, on February 6 this year, Xiao Ou and two friends enthusiastically joined the first wave of outbound tours and started a ten-day trip to Thailand.
But from the moment he bought the air ticket and applied for the visa on arrival, Xiao Ou felt that there was a gap with his expectations.
"Although it was released at the time, there were few direct flights and expensive air tickets." Xiao Ou remembered that before the epidemic, there were three or four direct flights from Hangzhou to Bangkok, Thailand every day, and the round trip only cost about 2,500 yuan.
But in February this year, there was only one direct flight from Hangzhou to Bangkok a week, and the one-way cost was two to three thousand yuan.
In order to save money, Xiao Ou chose to go to Thailand in a curved line - first from Hangzhou to Shenzhen, then from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, and then from Hong Kong to Bangkok.
However, what awaits them is a price-increasing Thailand.
"In Bangkok, the accommodation fee in the same area has risen from 200 yuan to 300 yuan for a room in the past; in Chiang Mai, the starting price of a tuk-tuk has nearly tripled from the previous 20 baht (1 baht ≈ 0.2 yuan) , at least 60 baht per person; many taxis don’t use the meter, and the price is direct...” Xiao Ou feels that the cost of accommodation and transportation in Thailand has risen significantly.
Relatively speaking, the prices of restaurants and snacks have not changed significantly. The online celebrity single-product coconut ice cream next to the scenic spot is 50 baht, one green coconut is 50 baht, six tomatoes and three cucumbers are 20 baht...
From Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Xiao Ou saw the faces of many Chinese tourists, and the tourism industry in Thailand, which was hit hard by the epidemic, is not as prosperous as it used to be.
Xiao Ou and his friends went to find the restaurants they had eaten three years ago, but found that most of them had closed down.
"Many restaurants in Chiang Mai are not open. After all, there have been no tourists for three years, and very few can survive." On Nimman Road, a restaurant gathering place in Chiang Mai, Xiao Ou counted down, and 30% of the shops were closed. up.
"The epidemic has really changed a lot." On the afternoon of February 16, when he was about to return home from Chiang Mai, Xiao Ou sent a Moments sigh, "I don't know how long it will be when I come back next time. Maybe a year later, maybe two years later." Three years, after all, we can’t go back to before the epidemic.”
The supply of flights to Thailand is in short supply, and the price increase is inevitable
In November last year, Mr. Shen from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, flew from Xiamen to Bangkok, Thailand. The ticket price was around 1,500 yuan.
When traveling in Thailand, Mr. Shen stayed in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Koh Chang, and Chanthaburi, and stayed in many hotels and B&Bs, with prices ranging from 110 to 300 yuan per night.
Mr. Shen believes that whether Thailand travel is cheap or not depends more on personal choice, "Thailand is a country with a variety of choices."
Before the epidemic, Mr. Shen had visited Thailand five or six times.
In comparison, prices in Thailand have indeed risen a bit.
However, in his opinion, the current price is completely within the affordable range, not as exaggerated as it is said on the Internet.
"I have been in Chiang Mai. The price of pork rice bowls at roadside stalls and small roadside shops is basically 10 yuan per serving after conversion. A catty of mango is about 5 yuan, and Lianwu is six or seven yuan per catty. Durian is not available now. In the peak season, it costs 16 to 20 yuan a catty to buy at the market.” As for other expenses, Mr. Shen said that the price of a massage used to be 200 to 250 baht per hour, but now the price is basically 250 to 300 baht.
According to Mr. Shen's observation, there is not much difference between the price of tourist attractions in Chiang Mai and the surrounding residential areas.
"Eating and drinking are quite cost-effective. A cup of American style is converted into more than ten yuan. You can sit in a cafe for a day, and the service is very warm and thoughtful. I ate at a restaurant in the center of the ancient city at noon. A fried rice was 80 baht. The portion is quite large. My daughter I can’t finish it all. In Chiang Mai, meals account for the majority of our expenses. My wife and I usually spend about 20 yuan or 60 yuan for dinner, and one or two hundred yuan for a big meal. It’s rarely encountered The phenomenon of ripping off customers and hidden consumption is quite comfortable.”
Mr. Shen told the reporter of Qianjiang Evening News that, except for the entrance ticket of the Grand Palace, which costs 500 baht, and the entrance fee of the Shuanglong Temple, which costs 30 baht, most attractions in Thailand do not need tickets.
Mr. Shen found that in Thailand, hotels and restaurants with a lot of European and American backpackers must have high cost performance.
Mr. Shen suggested that you should do more homework before traveling.
As for air tickets and hotels, Mr. Shen thinks that everyone wants to go abroad, and Thailand is basically the first choice in Southeast Asia. There are not too many flights at present. When the supply exceeds demand, price increases are inevitable.
Ms. Wang from Hangzhou, who just traveled to Thailand with her husband in February this year, told reporters that the cost of going to Thailand is twice as expensive as before.
"Two people spent more than 30,000 yuan for 8 days. The price gap is mainly in air tickets and hotels. In 2017, my air ticket to Thailand was only a few hundred yuan more. Now it is almost 2,000 yuan for a one-way trip. The original hotel price of 300 yuan has risen to 800 yuan. .As for other prices, I think there is no difference, and there is no phenomenon of ripping off customers.”
The industry is slowly recovering
30% higher cost than outbound tour
Going to the Elephant Garden to ride an elephant, the ticket price was 15-250 baht before the epidemic, but now it has risen to 500 baht; it costs 330 baht to order three skewers of seafood and chicken skewers on the roadside, while the same price can be ordered for five before the epidemic six strings...
At the beginning of March, when Zhang Jie (pseudonym), a tour guide of a large travel agency in Zhejiang Province, brought a group to Phuket again after three years, he felt that the money in his pocket had become unnecessary. Ten thousand baht, and there was still some balance when I returned home, but this time there is almost nothing left."
As early as when making budget quotations, Zhang Jie found that the cost of high-end tour groups was 30% higher than before the epidemic, and the price increase was mainly due to labor costs.
"Many hotel service staff and tour bus drivers have changed careers in the past three years. Although some people are slowly returning, the overall ground pick-up capacity is still limited. In addition, we now have to pay Thai ground pick-up tour guides 20 per person per day. RMB service fee, which was not available before.”
Zhang Jie also said that the local tourist buses will be gradually updated after three to five years of use. "The buses I took this time are relatively new. They should have been replaced in the last two years, which is not a small cost."
"Illnesses come and go like a mountain, and go away like silk." A person in charge of a local tourism agency in Thailand described the current tourism market in Thailand.
The person in charge said that in the past three years, the overall local basic consumption has increased by at least 30%, of which electricity prices have increased by 60% to 100%, gas has increased by 50%, and even chemical fertilizers have doubled.
These have led to a much higher team meal standard than before.
"In the past, the restaurants that offered group meals for 100-150 baht/person were closed or transferred, and the group meals in expensive restaurants were all 250-400 baht. There are few places that can accommodate large groups, and it is not a day or two to let them come back. things," said the official.