There have been a couple of articles pushed out by local media/blog sites in the last week that are either looking for click bait or they are just delusional. The topic was regarding Pattaya and how the pandemic has killed off the city for good. I am all for reasoned debate and opinion but this argument held no merit.

Here is my opinion. The writers were wrong firstly by correlating Pattaya with the dated nightlife scene that was in decline well before the pandemic. Pattaya as a town has and will continue to evolve once the recovery starts. Let me explain my logic in a moment.

To be fair, maybe when business owners in this sector look back in years to come, once the dust has settled, they may well think Covid did them a favour. Many were already holding on to survival and refused to let go. This was seeing reduced margins, prices and decline in quality for the consumer. Parts of Pattaya has been overburdened with too many legacy businesses that were in situ from the days the town was built around the Western, aging ‘two week millionaire’ type visitors.

The city needed a re balancing and  reset and the Pandemic ruthlessly delivered this. Whatever your views on this, the town was out growing its past reputation and was becoming a rounded holiday destination for everyone. I see no reason why this development will not continue post-Covid.

One article I read claimed property prices would crash and never recover. Again, just pure click bate. Property prices have dropped from the peaks of a decade ago within the condominium boom, but my feedback tells me villas and house prices have increased and continue to do so. Land in central locations has gone up, not down – so how can good quality property crash in price, it doesn’t add up does it?

A seaside resort with year round sunshine, amazing attractions, super dining options, an International airport, nearby islands, golf courses and access to Bangkok just cannot crash. It’s implausible. Some parts of the market have seen pricing reductions for various reasons, but only parts.

I have no vested interest or paid advertiser asking me to put spin on the situation. It is just common sense and logic being applied. I can only see a positive mid to longer term future for property investors in Pattaya – just buy the right places and in the right locations.

Sometimes people have also been unrealistic with property price expectations in Pattaya and judge it by their domestic markets, many of which grow periodically.  This doesn’t help and can frustrate many investors whom assumed year on year growth.

Pattaya is wrongly underrated by many

I must admit I got the perception wrong on Pattaya a few years ago and relocated my family to Hua Hin. I spent one year there before coming back to live in Pattaya. Hua Hin was very beautiful and peaceful but lacked – in my opinion – a little life. In hindsight I made some valuable leanings. There was a reason I have spent over a decade in Pattaya and that’s because it is a great place to live and work. It is easy get caught up on what the naysayers have to say. My new stance – just ignore them.

The problem is many cannot shake off Pattayas previously seedy reputation and so will always see the city with this stigma. Truth is, if they opened their eyes and enjoyed a cocktail on the Hilton rooftop, a Sunday brunch at the awesome Movenick hotel in Na Jomtien, or perhaps some shopping at Terminal 21 or a round of golf; they would be staggered by the new reality.

Stunning views across the Pattaya Bay at the Hilton rooftop

So, when careless blogs are published claiming Pattaya is doomed forever it becomes dangerous, fake news that we all need to learn to discard. Social media is giving us all voices and we should be conscientious and balanced in what we put out there.

Just like some people cannot see Pattaya for what it was becoming before the pandemic – instead choosing to with dated narrative. So too can misinformed blogs wrongly shape the reality if enough people start to believe everything they read.

I see a bright future for Pattaya and I see a new Pattaya continuing to evolve and catering to the needs of a more relevant modern day visitor. Again, I have no vested interest here. It is just what my years of experience and gut intuition from living here for so long tells me.