Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

The Value of a Tourist.

By Sean Moran, Created on: 18/01/2009, Last updated on: 15/12/2010

» What are some of the most common positive and negative results of foreign tourists from overseas visiting Thailand? Thai opinions welcome, kap.

• tmvolunteer commented : Tourist = Money. When Thais see a tourist spending more money in one evening than a Thai make in a month it is obvious they think that all farang are filthy rich. When I tell my Thai friends that it takes my brother one year to save up enough money to come and visit me here in Thailand for three weeks, they don't believe me. When I tell them that more than 90% of my friends back home cannot afford to drive around in a huge three liter pick-up truck, they don't believe me. I have a fourteen year old Honda Dream and sometimes I get the question why I don't have a car, I tell them that I cannot afford to buy one, they laugh and it is obvious... they don't believe me. So what are the Thais to think about us farang when they see tourists throwing money around like there is no tomorrow? What when they watch Hollywood movies? They know that all the best superheroes in the world are American, even if aliens should come from outer space they would land in America, and the Americans will save us all! There are so many movies showing that the good always wins over the bad, but in everyday life in Thailand it is the opposite, the one with the most money or the highest position rules. It is not easy to convince a Thai that the movies are just fiction, most of them actually think that this is the way it is in the western world. The point is that Thai people know nothing about western culture and how can they know? They hardly know their own history. The education system in Thailand has gone from bad to worse in the last couple of years, with political turmoil and students and parents only worry about their immediate financial situation. For politicians and the rich, the education system is way back in the line of improvement. The politicians are too busy defending themselves from accusations from the opposition, and the rich are not interested in educating people, they would probably lose their gardener, driver, house maids and so on, if the Thai people were to be properly educated. Tourism is not the highest income source for Thailand but most tourists think that it is, and it often shows in their behavior towards Thailand and its people. Often I see tourists behaving in a manner that makes me think "would they behave like this back home?" and I know that they wouldn't. Where has the respect for each other disappeared to? Wherever it is, I hope that it comes back to us soon. Maybe respect has become a filthy rich tourist too. The true value of today's tourist = $$$. Send a genuine smile to 10 people today and tomorrow will be a happier day.

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