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In Pattaya, a new breed of Chinese tourist emerges: meet the FITs
- Once known for decadence, the Thai city attracts a new generation of Chinese tourists: Free, Independent Travellers
- They are younger, wealthier, more adventurous – and unlikely to head to a factory to buy souvenirs they don’t need
Reading Time:6 minutes
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Pattaya’s Beach Road buzzes with distinctive Thai chaos. It’s lined with tattoo parlours, travel agents and sprawling bars that overflow with sunburn, sandals and beer.
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The traffic hums with noisy trucks: Pattaya’s default form of public transport. Hop on, hop off wherever you like. Just 10 baht (US 30 cents) to hitch a ride. They’re called songtaew – or “two rows”, for the two rows of seats in the back. Thick streams of cable run overhead alongside the road, clustering like black rubbery cobwebs at every junction.
Palm trees separate the bitumen from the beach; piles of coconuts sell for 50 baht each; and beyond, an unending battalion of loungers and umbrellas.
Into this scene, every day, hundreds upon hundreds of Chinese tourists trudge up the sand from the surf, returning after day trips to Koh Lan, a rocky silhouette 5km west of Pattaya.
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These are the new breed of Chinese tourist: younger, wealthier, adventurous, independent. They have no interest in the rigidly organised group tours that deliver millions of Chinese to foreign shores.
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