And just as the results of a survey – which pitted Thailand as the 10th best country in the world to retire (out of 25 rated) – were published, public and private stakeholders are now rallying to cash in on the elderly.
In theory, the marketing side of things shouldn’t require too much effort.
Thailand – with its iconic tropical ocean vistas (think Phuket, Krabi), culture-rich hillsides (Chiang Mai), supreme-value services (Pattaya), sleepy seaside resorts (Hua Hin), cosmopolitan condos (Bangkok) and even its dirt-cheap countryside estates (Isan) – has long ranked high on retirees’ lists the world over.
The kingdom’s health sector has comfortably retained a competitive edge over its Western counterparts, thanks to a value offering of relatively higher standards of service, but at much lower expense.
Indeed, the lower cost of living in Thailand has been the cornerstone to the “Settle down in Sabai Sabai Thailand” pitch over the past few decades, which has been effective in luring tens of thousands of “quality visitors” from Australia, North America and Europe.
But as times have changed, so have the general sentiments of many of those pioneering pensioners, who will almost unanimously agree that Thailand (especially Phuket) “is not what it used to be”.
Change is inevitable, and the rising cost of living is certainly not limited to Thailand.
However, when “quality visitors”, such as retirees, contemplate their settling grounds, the cost of living is only one factor; just as important, if not more so, is the quality of life.
Thailand’s current predicament has echoes in the classic Aesop fable, about the dog with meat in its mouth that mistakes its own reflection for another dog with more meat.
So it seems that while stakeholders are busy trying to tap new markets abroad, they have neglected the existing bread and butter, and the quality of life has not risen in sync with the cost of living.
The implications of such neglect don’t just impact retirees or other “long term” residents, but extend to the local population as a whole.
Before getting too carried away with new income sources outside of the country, perhaps stakeholders should concentrate their efforts inwards first.