BANGKOK — If you are a foreign resident who is so done with elephant knick knacks for tourists and Thais clogging up perfectly good cafes with Instagram modelling shoots, there is a happy middle place to indulge in materialism just for you now, organized by none other than the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Explore expanses of exciting, extraordinary, and hopefully not too-expensive deals for – who else? – expats at the “Em Expat Expo” at EmQuartier from the auspicious dates of Sept. 9 through Oct. 10.
“UNITE EXPAT SOCIETY / UNBOUNDRY FUN,” [sic] screams the poster, possibly trying to convey that shopping fun transcends visa border runs.
The opening event 10am to 10pm Friday through Sunday at the Quartier Gallery at the mall will include activities that organizers are sure expats will enjoy, such as a live jazz band and Thai desserts to eat.
Without tourists, who else will frequent “Golfcourse” and other domestic tourism spots? Expats, apparently. The event will feature booths selling travel deals for expats, as well as a booths run by the expat community on the weekends.
Expats sick of miniscule “free size” 199 baht dresses and 129 baht bras at markets are welcome to peruse shops promised to stock “RARED SIZE,” “BIG CUP,” and “EUROPIAN [sic] & ASIAN SPEC.”
So far as of press time, the only instance of double pricing is a 300 baht gift vouchers for expats with an Expatriate M Card Membership. Entry, however, is free.
This isn’t the TAT’s first rodeo – the Tourism Authority of Thailand last organized an Expat Fair in 2016.
