Tourism what are they thinking?

[apee705]

Although tourism is very interesting & adventurous in Thai yet the brutal fact is that many peoples who stay in Thailand in doing jobs & earning money from dawn to dusk, will not be able to visit even its working town properly & iut is misery of time & materialism, & most of all what we called as cut throat competition.

[apee705]

May be you are right in substance that it will cast a negative effect but it also has a more brighter & shining aspect too, that it will goes to facilitate tourists in country, and most of all it will goes that our banking system will be experienced new ventures in global financial market.

[Charlies]

If you are an ordinary person maybe the fee is too much for you but if you are high class and professional person then the fee is nothing for you because when you travel you should be prepare and bring enough money to spend.

I travel to ThaiLand because I like thai ladies I don't care about my money as long as they make me happy I am willing to pay the fee...haha

[broadview1]

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment.

[rab]

@RogerRamjet
"..... Yesterday, 22 April 2010 I withdrew 100,000 baht at Siam Commercial Bank - the cost? Nothing"

As a frequent payer of that ATM charge I'm intrigued. Do you have an account at that bank, or an account in
another SE Asia bank ?

Hints/tips/suggestions gratefully received.

[surinfarm]

Tourism.
Over saturation.
Culture destruction.

[mutley]

Rab, You do not have to have a bank account to get money on a foreign card. Just don't use the ATM. Go into the bank (I use Bangkok Bank as they have the best exchange rates) armed with your card and passport and ask for 100,000 baht. It costs me nothing at the bank and £4.50 from my UK bank. This is because the machine they use at the bank makes it look like a purchase and not cash so your foreign bank can only charge you the max. for purchases which , at my bank is £4.50. This works for any amount up to 999,999 baht. Over that and you have to sign a form saying that you're buying a property.

[rab]

@mutley
Thanks for your reply and information; I'll give that method a go when I'm next visiting Thailand and the banks.
Cutting out that charge will allow for a couple of extra beers !

[pquinlan]

"The Bank of Ayudhya is a local bank as is for example the Bangkok bank. These have no overseas commercial contacts and no great interest in Farang customers."

Surely you don't believe this? BBL has tentacles all over Asia and associations with banks in all other major economies.

I don't like the practice of overcharging for a service, for that's what Baht 150/transaction is, but let's keep the statements to what we know rather than guess.

[GenetheMachine]

Sometime in the eighties all banks decided to increase their earnings by charging fees such as a closing your account fee, a fee to transfer your money from your savings account into your checking account to cover a check. The ATM fees are just another way they use to make money. Just before my last trip to Thailand VISA implemented an "out of country" fee of 3% for anything charged in a different country than your own. I avoid these fees by buying travelers checks and booking my hotel through an American web site. Now travelers checks are getting harder to purchase but American Express is still in business.