Vietnam will never really gain on Thailand tourism as climate is much harsher and seas are much choppier.

But some first time ignorant tourists from grey industrial cities still may genuinely enjoy holidays there without regard to the factors mentioned above.

E.g. in Phuket is simply paradise - no real violent rains, like in Australia or India, no destructive storms/cyclones, no extreme heat (just visit Vietnam in April pls), no too cool weather in winter like in Chiangmai, or occasionally even in BKK or Pattaya around XMas.

Posted by Sue on June 12, 2015 06:00

Goong Chen has just confirmed he or his parents wasted a lot on money on his education. The likelihood of a plane entering the ocean vertically at even a few 100 kmh's and remaining intact is about as plausible as an egg being dropped from a 50 storey building onto concrete without cracking the shell.

Maybe be outsourced his assignments, in which case he should also outsource his theories if he wants to be taken seriously.

Posted by Manowar on June 12, 2015 06:31

Sue,
It was -4 dec C in Canberra overnight, 35 dec C in Darwin today and parts of Queensland are still being rebuilt from the cyclone 2 years ago. Sydney reached temperatures of 42 deg C in January this year and we had 10 m swell on the coast 6 weeks ago. Western Sydney suburbs are still being rebuilt from the bush fires and part of Newcastle were wiped out by flooding, having received 600mm of rain in 36 hours in April.

You are right, nothing too violent but this is just a normal year.

Posted by Manowar on June 12, 2015 06:49

Sue..I beg to differ...Vietnam has about 1000 miles of beautiful coastline...and some of those beaches are pristine...they get many many beautiful days there...the people in the tourist areas do not display the hustle and quick sell ripoff attitudes like most of the people do in Thailand..the food is different of course but just as tasty and cheaper...There is a lot to enjoy there..it is surpassing Thailand and will continue to do so...

Posted by sky on June 12, 2015 07:32

True, or Thunderbird 5 may have provided some assistance.
I am still, after 50 years trying to find the retail outlet selling the chewing gum used by Marine Boy to breath underwater. When I find it, I can also help with the search.

Posted by Manowar on June 12, 2015 08:14

Sorry Sue you're just plain wrong. I spent 3 weeks in Vietnam a year ago and it was fantastic. And I'm not a first time ignorant tourist either. The people are just as friendly, the food is glorious, the weather was perfect, and it was cheaper than Thailand for most things. People are getting sick of Phuket because of the stupid governing of the island. Sun lounges, jet skis and tuk tuks are turning people away and when they look elswhere they try places like Vietnam. Sounds to me like you have your head in the sand.

Posted by pete59 on June 12, 2015 08:50

Phuket instead is overcrowded (look at Coral Island or Mahia Bay) by Chinese and the expensivest place in Thailand.
That's way the number of non-Chinese tourists is dropped nearly 30% in the last 4 years (from TAT statistic). Som nam naa.

Posted by dave on June 12, 2015 10:16

sky pete59

I didn't say you can't have good holiday at Vietnam

What I meant the chances to have good beach holidays at swimming beaches at Vietnam is much narrow:
both periods of suitable for a beach holidays weather is shorter:
rainy season is longer , and there hurricanes that are virtually non-existing in Phuket, and there is extreme heat season which doesn't exist here as well, and weather often simply too cold for a beach anyway.
and sea conditions mostly unsuitable for a beach holidays (so it is predominantly "pool holidays" when weather is good) :
there are very few swimming beaches as most of the time seas are choppy or very choppy, at best most of the coastline can serve just as bathing beach at good weather.

It is that particular warm weather beach holiday in Vietnam much less available than at TH South, but yes, other kinds of holidays are indeed available and are enjoyable.
The fact that people have a good time in Vietnam points more to the opportunity that there is a great tourism potential for Thailand upcountry - beautiful natural vistas, or some heritage sites, or just sightseeing "how people live there", all without swimming beaches and also with a colder weather than at South.

Sure, you can have great time also on Bali - but Bali is anything but swimming beaches:
Bali also has many optically very enjoyable beaches, some of them pristine, which are , with an exception of few segments, are not swimming beaches.

Beautiful coastline with white-sand beaches also exist e.g. in N.Europe; the only problem it is just too cold to bath there and in general there are only 2 months per year when you can spend time on the beach, and still on most f sunny days you'll need to play a beach ball in order not to get frozen.

Let's look for example at Danang climate:

"Da Nang has a tropical monsoon climate with short dry season. " - true, dry season is February-June.

"The warm season lasts from May 14 to September 2 with an average daily high temperature above 33??C. The hottest day of the year is June 18, with an average high of 35??C and low of 26??C.
The cold season lasts from November 21 to February 15 with an average daily high temperature below 26??C. The coldest day of the year is February 1, with an average low of 19??C and high of 24??C."

It is that February is still too cold for a beach, and March actually too - on top it s not only too cool, but also mostly cloudy(70% of the days are very cloudy), that combined onky multiplies too cool for a beach weather effect.

Commercial season in tropical destinations , still subject to a good weather there, mostly overlaps with a cold weather in Northern hemisphere, i.e. when there are fewer destinations with warm weather , here actually only April, for May and further on you have many local or less distant choices in N.hemisphere with a warm weather.

Yes, choice of seafood at proper places in Vietnam is richer, it is more fresh than on average on display in S.Thailand, and it is cheaper.

Posted by Sue on June 12, 2015 14:02

Anyone thought of asking the 220 Uighur muslims that appeared 2 days after MH370 how they managed to travel to southern Thailand as a group with small children?

Posted by ellie on June 13, 2015 00:49