Are we guests or customers in Thailand?

This topic has been raised indirectly on a couple of Gay Thai boards recently. This article from a Blog ( mainly pretty horrendous and argumentative ) gave me food for thought.

I would previously have given unthinking lip service to the "We are guests in this country and should behave as such" but on reflection I don't think it is true. I think I am more a customer. That does not mean that I should not be respectful of Thai culture or impolite.

"From Paivi & Santeri's Blog
We have been told a few times in travel-related Internet discussion forums that when we travel outside Finland, we are guests. Therefore we must refrain from expressing any opinions on that country or its people unless our view is positive. Criticism and especially trying to right wrongs is not seen as acceptable behaviour of a guest. Are we guests or tourists?
Let us consider a bit more deeply the concept of 'guest'. Traditionally it refers to a person who is invited to a country or a home by a host. How many people have actually been invited to visit a country? Certainly diplomats, visiting governers of other nations, some sportsmen and other celebrities. But what about regular tourists on their one-month holiday?

Licensed tourism
In some countries like Russia tourists need an official invitation. It is usually acquired through a travel agency, and does not require the tourist to know anybody in the hosting country. In most other countries travellers don't even need this. However, there is one group of people in every country who always welcomes tourists above all others: people working in tourism industry. Tourism is a big business as every tourist brings a considerable sum of money into the country.
In general, to deal with a business you do not need any invitation or license. You pay for the services you use or for the products you buy. We do not see how tourism should be different from other businesses. A tourist is a paying customer who should get the best possible service in return of the money spent. If this is not the case, why should the customers just shut up?

Tourism is a big business

Some people deny the commercial side of tourism. According to us, one reason for this lies in nationalism. People attach sentimental meanings to countries, transferring the feelings they have for their own home country to the countries they visit. They feel that in every country there is a nation who owns that country and somehow regulates the tourist influx. Therefore travellers and tourists should be grateful that they have been allowed to enter. Another reason for denying the commercialism is that some people try to cover the fact that they are travelling as tourists. They would like to be something else, to mingle with local people, and be appreciated also otherwise than as mere targets and sources of income for tourism industry.
Nationalists think they show the utmost respect for other nations but in reality they build barriers between themselves and hosts. Hosts are seen as others which leads to an ambiguous attitude. Tourists either belittle themselves assuming the role of a guest who is all the time on his toes and tries to please his host, praising him and the country to the skies and ignoring all the downsides. The other side of the coin is patronizing the host. Us Westeners, when travelling in third world countries, may feel that we are priviledged compared to our hosts. We demonstrate that by paying too much, leaving extravagant tips, and trying to live up to the wealthy reputation. We pretend that we can help the poor buggers, but the poor buggers quite often feel that we promote ourselves and disrespect them. Does condescending behaviour imply respect to you?

Full article : http://paivisanteri.blogspot.com/2007/0 ... rists.html (http://paivisanteri.blogspot.com/2007/01/are-we-guests-or-tourists.html)

[cottmann]

"Tourists are customers who are away from home."

If Thailand had not marketed itself for decades, had not developed its "Amazing Thailand" brand, and had TAT not boasted that FutureBrand, a major global brand consultancy, had named Thailand as тАЬBest Country BrandтАЭ in terms of value for money in 2006, then I would have accepted the guest argument. Given the above, I am a customer who buys a branded service.

This is an interesting one. I always found tipping an awkward affair in Thailand, and never do it unless the service is in fact good for starters. Still, it is not something I think about too much, though this is indeed food for thought WW.

When you stay in the same hotel enough times though you begin to feel that you would like to thank all the staff for the good service, but you obviously cannot tip the entire establishment, mostly the service in my hotel ranges from excellent to extraordinary, and this often comes about from a direct initiative from the particular staff member concerned.
I try and tip a few well each time and do the others next time. I haven't yet felt that tipping is taken as disrespect or that I am treating anyone in a condescending manner by doing so.
One or two who I know very well and who always come straight to greet me when I arrive, I never tip and I have never felt that they expect it, this is the awkward part, I feel I cannot tip friends. I am not entirely sure how they see this, but they never fail to smile and and hold my hand with only the warmest of greeting, that makes me feel I am home and with people I know and care about, they are also the people who will talk about affairs of their country and family matters and many other things beyond the great walls and drive-ways of life in the hotel, and ask me similar about my life, they will though also give me the micro politics of the management in as much detail as is required, most often completely spontaneously.

Then there are the nighty night boys, the cute bell hops, the devilishly handsome and tall room service young men, not forgetting the maids and everyone else.
I have noticed though that depending who I tip and how much, that they might on occation feel obliged to offer more than the call of duty requires, and then I feel I have over stepped the boundaries, but not always.
Sometimes it has worked out as a good excuse for them to launch into something which otherwise would have remained pretty much taboo in their position, and this makes me happy, because as it is never my intention to compromise their position in any way or form, it is nice to see their heart felt feelings coming to the surface. They have simply seen it as a kindness and felt warmed and by it into a less formal interaction.
So I suppose there is no real black and white on this subject, just many many different shades of grey, and just occasionally the brightest brilliant orange hue will also interrupt this delicate balance. Smiles all round. But even then I am very careful never to take advantage and leave the ball well in their court, well ok, just a tiny bit of harmless flirting aside, who could resist, it is Thailand after all.