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As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing think whether or not foreign retirees sort of "smooth out" low season. What are we talking about here? Well I have done a bunch of videos recently, I think I have been accused multiple times in the comments of flogging a dead horse, or beating a dead horse and whatever, there was a lot of information there and I did feel like it was really important to get that out there. I have another opinion piece coming up regarding the Retirement Visa generally, sort of where I think things are heading; I urge those who are watching this video stay tuned, that one's coming. 

With regard to retirees generally, we are sitting here kind of in the low doldrums of the low season here in Thailand. August, always seems like it all comes home to roost in August where just the low numbers, it all kind of peaks, or I should say we fall into the low ebb if you will of tourism numbers here in Thailand and there is a good argument to be made that this is the exact month that the retirees are most necessary for Thailand. One of the reasons I am very pro retiree for Thailand is because they help the economy substantially and they especially help the economy in my opinion, during low season. Many of the retirees that live in Thailand prefer to live in places that are otherwise resort towns, although not all of them, I am not making a blanket statement there. I know you retirees who are up country, some of you retirees are out in more rural areas, oftentimes living with a spouse or a loved one. Again I totally get it, this video doesn't really pertain to you exactly. But with regard to the ones especially who live here in the city here in Bangkok and the retirees who live for example in Pattaya or Phuket or Hua Hin or Chiang Mai, or even down on the islands, these places are generally heavily trafficked by tourists during high season but then during the late summer like we are in right now, wow do those numbers really fall off. This is where the retirees come in as a very pivotal component to the overall tourism economy, but just the overall economy because in many sectors especially the SMEs, food and beverage businesses, hotels, guest houses, these kind of places, especially the small ones, even resorts and things benefit greatly from the fact that we still have tens of thousands of retirees here in Thailand during the low season who are still spending money; who are still buying the occasional beer at a bar who are still buying a burger at the local restaurant next door to them; who are still going out, living their lives. They have got to buy groceries; they have got to buy all kinds of things to just live here. As a result, I think this has a tremendous positive impact especially during again the doldrums like we are going through right now sort of right before we see high season start to kick back into gear going into the 4th quarter, this is exactly where the retirees to my mind are the most useful and beneficial to Thailand. That's not to say any other time of the year they are not, but it is most acute right now, you can see it quite honestly. I have been to a couple of places here in the last couple of weeks and been wandering around; I just like to wander around; I like to go on the walkabouts and just kind of wander around, see what's going on and I have very much noticed that there are a lot of very empty restaurants, food and beverage, bar and grill kind of places, all throughout different resorts and things and look they have got two or three retirees in there and that may be just enough to keep those businesses humming along until we get into high season where they can make some real money.

So again, I definitely think that yeah I think it is a true statement to say retirees definitely help "smooth out" if you will, low season here in Thailand.