Pattaya’s Future?

Pattaya is closed! Yes, that’s right, it’s closed, but that is not what the 2-week millionaires and mongers want to hear – that their favourite holiday destination is not available at the moment. It’s a place that makes them feel alive, invigorated and happy for a short time. I know – I have had many happy holidays there.

This is where they have been going once or twice a year {or sometimes months at a time} for the past 5, 10 or 15 years, sometimes longer than that and they don’t want to go anywhere else. It’s a sad state of affairs all over the world which has impacted not only holiday hotspots but life and income in general. Guesthouses in your home country. Beaches and resorts in Europe or wherever you live and luxury cruises or Caribbean holidays will all take a hammering during this pandemic. So, guys, save your energy on looking after yourself, family, friends and neighbours and not be worrying or wondering too much about Pattaya’s recovery or when you can go – it will hopefully sort itself out.

Pattaya is a unique city built upon the sex industry. Yes, there are shopping malls, day trips and island excursions but a lot of Farang cash is spent on bargirls, gogo girls, lady drinks, barfines, freelancers, oil massages {with or without happy endings}, soapy massages and of course alcohol in the bars or clubs. Those girls then use that cash for basic living costs and then spend freely on fashion, drink, drugs, nightclubbing – new phones, rented scooters and other gadgets and then maybe send some back to family up North, So most of their income made from sex goes back to local Pattaya business owners!

Take the Farang sex cash out of the equation and the strong link in the chain is broken. As Wesley Snipes said in New Jack City, ”Money talks, bullshit runs the marathon”. Cash is King in Pattaya and I fear that the link in the chain may be more difficult to weld together than other holiday resorts in the future. Tourist numbers have been dropping rapidly over the past years due to the terrible exchange rate. Added to that, people are always stating, ”The place is just not the same”. {This could mean various different things to different people but I think the main 2 is the Thai attitude towards them in Pattaya and the party atmosphere is just not there.}

Let’s say in 3 months’ time the lockdown restrictions are removed and flights go back to normal, a place like Pattaya will not just hit the ground running – it may take well into 2021 just to get back half the numbers that it has seen in recent years. The 2-week millionaires that spend money in the bars and on sex are just average guys who save up for months just to enjoy a few weeks holiday. In the future most of them will have no job or reduced income – could be on benefits and maybe in debt! The last thing on their minds will be saving for a holiday just to give it all away to Bargirls.  This is of course their choice but I will not be one of them. As for the Thai bar and business owners – will they have the cash to start over and take a risk on making it work? This is just my opinion anyway and the future of all holiday resorts is uncertain – I am not an economist, Business analyst nor do I work in the travel industry but I have been to Pattaya enough to know that the place revolves around the sex industry – pure & simple. But as the saying goes, sex sells’, so we will all have to wait and see.

Take care everyone and I hope you all get to enjoy Pattaya again sometime in the future,

Paul
England