Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the "VIP Tourist" model for tourism to Thailand. What are we talking about here? Well as we have discussed in various videos over the past year, there been a number of plans that they have been trying to institute within Thai Government circles, Thai policy maker circles and they have been talking about it; they haven't actually promulgated any legislation or any regulations that actually change the legal framework for coming and staying in Thailand. The question posed is whether or not so called "VIP tourists" whether this model is something that Thailand should pursue. 

I started thinking about this after reading an article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Debates Rage about the Five Future Scenarios for Pattaya. Quoting from an excerpt in here and I urge folks who are watching this video, to go check out that article, there is a lot going on in there. I am just taking an excerpt out of this; good analysis in there about where things may be going in the future. Quoting directly: "The Tourist Authority of Thailand argues that Thailand can find at least 1 million new expats who will benefit the Thai Treasury by billions in any currency. Ideas include allowing foreigners to buy freehold property in selected estates including Pattaya and removal of Immigration restrictions for Elite Card holders and well-heeled digital nomads. There is even the suggestion of Permanent Residency for foreign investors who keep on signing cheques but none of these initiatives have yet surfaced except the 4 year Smart Visa which does not require a Work Permit and it is far from clear how many of these wealthy foreign guys and gals are actually out there." It is a good point. We have discussed a lot of this in prior videos; all these different iterations of the Elite Card; the discussion of the possibility of home ownership; even possibly land ownership which as I have said in other videos I think that is pretty far-fetched. I don't see that happening anytime soon but changes, maybe longer term visas things like that, certainly the Smart Visa, that actually has been rolled out. That is out there although I have found that most folks, there is a very narrow subset of people that seem to find a great deal of value out of that program. Just to quote again from this article, "and it is far from clear how many of these wealthy foreign guys and gals are actually out there". It is a good question. I have seen this posed, I have seen this discussed a lot sometimes even in comments on our videos, the discussion between ‘are a few VIP "high net worth" expats living in Thailand really better than, as I put in one video I think, a larger volume of so-called "Average Joes"? In my opinion I don't really see why they need to be mutually exclusive. You can have programs that are aimed at attracting folks that are "high net worth" that just don't want to deal with certain aspects of Immigration and you can simultaneously I think maintain for example the main one being the Retirement Visa option for folks over 50 that they can come into Thailand; they can get a Retirement Visa. Yes it needs to be renewed yearly; yes there are some requirements associated with it including things like a TM30 and 90-day reporting but you can maintain status in Thailand long-term in retirement status as an "Average Joe". Depending which way you deal with it, you can either maintain 800,000 Baht in a bank account for a certain segment of the year or 65,000 Baht in incoming pension income for the entirety of the year on a monthly basis. 

So again, I am not saying seeking “VIP Tourists” is a bad idea, what I would say is probably a bad idea is seeking them to the exclusion of anybody else because and I have done other videos on this, I think retirees have become an important component of the overall expat community and I think that that importance has been magnified by the recent events that have caused real problems with respect to tourism revenue and the business environment associated with the tourism industry.