Dear Dianne Kohler,

I typed this up and thought you might be interested in it.

Regards

Martin Leigh

What South Africa can learn from Thailand
I have been living in Thailand on and off for the last 15 years, and used to live in Johannesburg, and was brought up here and lived here. I know the city and I know the country, and have travelled far and wide. I have seen Thailand’s economy improve while South Africa’s is on the decline. It used to be so much fun going out in South Africa, and it seems that few people continue to do so, for the fear of crime or being stopped by police. I was in South Africa 2 years ago, during the height of the electricity cuts or load shedding as you call it, so fully aware of the impact that must have had, and continues to have. It has improved of course, and this time around seems much better.
Thailand’s economy especially the night time economy has improved because people have fun, and it is relatively safe. They know they have to protect their tourist economy and reputation if the tourist economy continues to thrive. They recently had the Songkran festival, which is the water throwing festival. It is reported that 666,000 people came to Thailand for the Songkran festival for a period of about 7 days. It is close to Asia – Japan and China, but quite far from Europe and the USA and still they attract people from around the globe.
South Africa could be the same. When I told my friends about visiting South Africa, they wanted to know about the Lions, and the big five, but their biggest concern was of course crime, and electricity cuts. If South Africa could improve on those 2 things, I am sure the tourist economy would thrive. Passing through Bangkok it was heaving with people. I came to Johannesburg and there were a handful of us.
Why is Thailand so successful? In my view, it has to do with cheap hotels – or cheaper. You can of course get high end hotels paying thousands of baht per night. (One rand is about 2 baht), but you can also get guest houses for around 400 Baht (R200 Rand) per night across the country. I find it hard to anything here for less than R500. Then of course, taxi’s and getting around --- taxis are relatively cheap. If you travel in a taxi in Bangkok for half an hour would cost around 200 baht (100 Rand). In South Africa, it is hard to get a ride for less than R300. Then added to that police interference – I am not talking about drinking and driving here, but it seems to be the risks of going out outweigh the benefits.
In 2011, South Africa GDP per capita was reported to be around 8600$ / year. It is now around 6000 US$ per year. In 2011, Thailand’s was 5300 $/ year, and today it is around 7100 $/ year. It has outshone South Africa which was once a very industrialized and thriving economy. This has not taken into account the lower cost of living in Thailand overall. There are some very important lessons to be learnt that South Africa could learn from. There is corruption in both countries, but quite simply, Thailand works. You can get overnight buses from city to city, late night buses in Bangkok, a well-developed infrastructure which continues to improve, more sky trains and better facilities, and cheap rent. Here in South Africa it is hard to find any of those things, and my only hope is for it to improve.
Martin Leigh
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3003752/tourism-surges-for-songkran
https://th.hotels.com/go/thailand/levels-club-and-lounge-bangkok
https://th.hotels.com/go/thailand/best-thailand-festivals
https://th.hotels.com/go/thailand/reasons-why-we-love-thailand