Long Stay in Thailand

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has recently launched its Long Stay in Thailand campaign. Its hoping attract visitors that will include retirees and pensioners, visitors traveling for medical and health services, international athletes who wish to make Thailand their training base as well as international students.

TAT Chairman Somsak commented, "Thailand is becoming increasingly popular as a place for long-stay visitors because of its good weather, inexpensive cost of living, high quality of medical services and recreational facilities.

"This project will help us boost the average visitor length of stay and daily expenditure, as long-stay visitors generate business for companies in related sectors like food and beverage, education, accommodation as well as health and sports.

So what are the kind of activities that are likely to attract long stay visitors to Thailand?

Not only are visitors coming to Thailand for tourism but also for medical treatment. The Kingdom now has 455 private hospitals staffed by Internationally trained doctors and specialists. It now offers an affordable quality alternative to having a medical operation in the west. Treatments range from heart surgery to cosmetic body transformations to laser eye surgery.

In recent years there has been an enormous awakening of interest in the way in which our minds and bodies work in harmony with the universe especially with regards to traditional medicine. Yet in Thailand that has been a part of everyday life for over centuries. A massage to restore the balance of body and mind, meditation or retreat into a monastery for inner tranquility, a herbal sauna to cleanse and rejuvenate the body, a diet of fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs for internal cleansing.

Traditional Thai medicine works on the theory that the body has four elements; wind, water, earth and fire and that illness is a result of their imbalance. To remedy an ailment a village doctor would make an herbal potion or pack for the patient to eat, rub onto the skin, or add to a steam compress. The blocking of the energy lines was also believed to lead to illness or emotional conflicts. A massage or sauna would be prescribed to unblock the energy paths.

Now established practice in spas and fitness centers world wide traditional Thai massage is a therapy that combines yoga and acupressure techniques, manipulating the body’s internal energy using pressure points and yoga positions.

In Thailand the centers of learning and practice has always been the temples. Massage is regarded as a way of achieving inner tranquility by easing the stresses and aches of the body. By force on the pressure points, muscles and ligaments, stretching, bending and manipulations, the whole body is decompressed. For the treatment the recipient normally wears loose pyjama like garments supplied by the massage center.

King Rama III had all available information on the subject gathered and inscribed on stone slabs in the early 19th century. They can be seen today at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Po), home to the Traditional Thai Massage school. Not only can visitors enjoy the benefits of a traditional Thai massage but can also study the techniques involved.

Meditation is found in some forms or another in all major religions but in Buddhism it’s an integral path to enlightenment. The practitioner trains his or her mind so that it can understand the four-points that form the core of Buddha’s teaching: suffering, what causes it, the end of suffering and the path to that end.

Consequently, the art of meditation is a highly developed on in Thailand. One doesn’t need to be a Buddhist or even have an interest in Buddhism to benefit from meditation. A valuable training that can be applied to daily life; it greatly helps concentration and can lead to a state of peace and calmness, no mater where the meditation is performed.

There are many kinds of yoga but the most widely practiced is Hatha yoga in which a series of postures are taught along with controlled breathing exercises.

Yoga is well known for its rejuvenating qualities and is said to help you live longer. You can start to learn at any age. Exercises are practiced in a very gentle way to suit your needs and abilities.

Yoga stretching is a good way to get to know your body. It gradually increases muscle length and flexibility. Yoga may not burn fat but it does have tremendous toning power, particularly for areas such as the stomach, bottom and thighs.

The 4,000-year-old Chinese healing technique of acupuncture is now accepted as a therapeutic element in modern hospitals. It’s the only therapy in the world that deals directly with the human energy system. Western medicine treats the body with drugs and surgery and the mind with psychoanalysis, but nothing for energy. In the Chinese system, energy is the most important aspect of all, as it forma the vital bridge between essence and spirit.

Energy imbalance is regarded as the foremost cause of disease, and the direct manipulation of energy is the foremost cure. The results of acupuncture speak for themselves with symptoms such as back pain, paralysis, nausea, tumours and addiction being effectively treated. Acupuncture also has been used an anesthetic by causing the secretion of endorphins – the body’s natural opiates which are more powerful than morphine.

Acupuncture awakens the body’s self-healing response and maintains the ying and yang. Acupuncture clinics can be found in leading hospitals in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.

The long-stay project is the first part of TAT's 'Be My Guest' campaign, which is to be launched in early 2002, targeted at both regular tourists and future long-stay visitors.

Due to the somewhat unique nature of the market, long-stay visitors require special attention. Hence, a one-stop tourism administration is under consideration to provide quick and efficient services in processing future applications.

Retirees and pensioners are a special target. For them, the Thai government has launched a new visa classification allowing foreigners aged 55+ to stay in Thailand for up to a year, renewable on the condition that they show proof that they can support themselves during their stay in Thailand. The visa can be applied for at Royal Thai embassies or Consular offices abroad.