Transcript of the above video: 

Boy for those who were watching me during COVID, you would probably find this title a little bit odd but "was COVID somehow a watershed for travel?" I don't know about that, but I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Do blue zones hold the key to future travel. Quoting directly: "The lockdown years proved a watershed for travel. After that grinding full stop, suddenly issues like personal space, safety, wellness and longevity have been thrust to the fore." Well only with a bunch of hypochondriacs who are also control-freaks trying to tell us all what to do with ourselves." Quoting further: "No longer are people travelling just for generic ho-hum business or leisure. They are opting for "experience" -- culture and heritage over Carrara marble; adventure and nature over crystal; neighbourhood exploration and local shopping and dining over bland brands cheapened by overexposure." 

I have to be honest with you, I think that there is some insight into that notion post-COVID that people really are looking for experiences. Now that said, they have been talking about this with the rise of the millennials demographically for about 10 years now. I've been watching over and over where they talk about "well millennials are really into experiences." Well millennials are into experiences because they are probably never going to buy their own home or do some of the things that prior generations were able to do. 

That said, the tourism sector should be aware of this sort of evolution, this change with respect to the market and adapt accordingly, because I don't think the old methodologies for attracting tourists - especially here to Thailand - are going to work the same way. I do to their credit think that the Thai Government is trying to adapt and I think that they have made certain major steps toward that end in the past year, year and a half as we have seen certain Visa restrictions be pulled away; we've seen new options for visas. We have seen a lot of things that would seem to, in my mind, basically show that yeah, Thailand is adapting and is trying to get on board with the new paradigm at tourism. How well it works remains to be seen, but we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as this situation evolves.