Thunglom

there's going to be confusion over this for months, even years to come. Interpretation and enforcement is going to be inconsistent, foreigner visitors who "fall foul" won't be able to challenge anything as it will take too long to get to court. I think tea money may get a serious fillip out of this, too.

Pretty optimist OP. China is doing really well and the US and most of the West continues to undervalue relations and trade with most of S.E.Asia. Quite apart form the industry we can see, China is increasing influence in infrastructure and in particular hearts and minds through education. The recent turn towards draconianism by te Chinese leadership hasn't helped, but the progress is still there and relentless. the West should look with concern upon the actions of the Confucius Institutes, the public educational and cultural promotion programs funded and arranged by the Chinese International Education Foundation - i.e. the Chinese government. This insidious organisation has infiltrated education systems from top to bottom in Thailand, with the willing help of major politicians. They also operate in countries like Australia. This is similar to the CIA operations in the 1960s used to subvert communist in countries the USA thought to be "at risk". Without proper funding the West will lose this race to the Chinese, but instead they worry about militaristic problems because they are the only ones they think they understand. the West is looking in the wrong direction.

"National Park Forestry guys were trying to stitch them up to pay again." - but are they? If you leave it would seem that you should pay again - but over what period?? I have visited/camped many NPs on the WFC and with one exception, have never been asked to pay twice, but this is largely because no-one was there. The one time was asa group in Khao Yai, when after caping overnight, we left to go shopping and on returning were asked to pay again on returning. This raises the question of cost for any family or groups who want to spend 5 to 7 days in a National park or visiting feral parks - te cost soon escalates. However, despite trying to ask the DNP over the years, I have never received a satisfactory response. I think it is further evidence of mismanagement of National parks that they don't actually consider how long of for what reasons people visit national parks. BTW - the only ones that get any real money from visitors (as opposed to govt funding) are the marine NPs in tourist areas and perhaps Khao Yai. - but that has been shown in the case of KY that income would not be reduced by a single fee system.

BTW - is it 200/500 per day or per visit?

Thailand has got it wrong in promoting their national heritage - it's as if they don't want people to see it.... The majority of United States National Park units are free to enter all year long. Only 116 of the 419 National Park Service units charge any sort of entrance fee. Admission to these parks can range from $5 per person to $35 per vehicle. The national park entrance fees are used to help offset the costs to run that park. Typically 80% of each national park fee is used in the park it is paid. On average other sites cost $10 per person. On average National Park admission is $30 per vehicle On average National Monument is $10 per person or $20 per vehicle. The UK has very few National parks and the criteria are not the same as for those in Thailand. However when it comes to charging foreigners to see their national heritage, they ae considerably more open and generous. Here is a list of some of the museums that are eFREE to enter,,, and this is in London alone · 1. British Museum · 2. National Gallery · 3. Museum of London · 4. Royal Academy of Arts · 5. Natural History Museum · 6. Science Museum · 7. IWM London · 8. National Maritime Museum · 9. Victoria and Albert Museum · 10. Tate Modern · 11. Tate Britain · 12. Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheatre · 13. Wellcome Collection · 14. Queen's House · 15. Sir John Soane's Museum · 16. Horniman Museum and Gardens · 17. London Mithraeum · 18. British Library · 19. National Army Museum · 20. Royal Air Force Museum · 21. The Wallace Collection · 22. Museum of London Docklands · 23. Young V&A · 24. Bank of England Museum · 25. Whitechapel Gallery · 26. Serpentine Galleries

Surprisingly the majority of United States National Park units are free to enter all year long. Only 116 of the 419 National Park Service units charge any sort of entrance fee. Admission to these parks can range from $5 per person to $35 per vehicle. The national park entrance fees are used to help offset the costs to run that park. Typically 80% of each national park fee is used in the park it is paid. On average National Park admission is $30 per vehicle On average National Monument is $10 per person or $20 per vehicle. On average other sites cost $10 per person. annual fees are around $30 to $70 A Thailand national park at 500 baht = 5 entires = 2500 baht = $73.00

So you are not in a position to comment.

remove or block potential nesting sites.

"only in Thailand" - is a cliche normally used by those talking about road safety. In general, it largely reflects the user's lack of worldly experience. However it is a double edged sword. There are certain aspects that whilst not being totally "unique" to Thailand are especially prevalent and are of some concern. The ability of police to scientifically approach a crime and the dominance/interference of Sakdina are particularly Thai features that are not appreciated by many foreigners and also the nature and all-pervasiveness of corruption in the country. It is also not a valid argument to suggest that because something similar happens elsewhere, it mitigates or justifies it happening in Thailand. the cliche "Thai-bashing" is normally used by the under-informed who don't really have an argument but want to disagree anyway.

QED - you really haven't got a grasp of th issues nor possible solutions.

you obviously haven't visited any NPs and don't know anything about the pricing debate as it relates to the DNP and Government.

the idea is to scrap dual pricing and introducing an equitable pricing scheme that also reflects the "value" of each individual National Park.

Read my posts - I'm seriously concerned about how the national parks are managed, and as I've already said, the dual pricing system is a manifestation of the overall mismanagement of the nation; parks. you realise that this is not the only way the parks are funded?

If don't mind queuing to gt up there!

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the differences you mention are for single purchases and mouth to about twice the price. The national parks are up to TEN TIMES the basic price.

sorry, I have no idea what you are getting at. Please explain.

Your assessment is completely wrong. A study back in 2007 showed that the dual pricing deterred visitors. It also isn't cheap - a couple of days in ANY national park, whether a waterfall of the biggest in the country is otfen more expensive than staying in a 4 star hotel.... and ten there is accommodation on top. the fact is that no-one cares amongst visitors because they don't want to go with the dual pricing. If it was removed it is predicted visitor numbers would increase and income for national parks themselves would increase. You are aware how the parks are funded? Basically it isn't by entrance fees alone, they have government finding. Unfortunately any new parks have been set up and opened but the overall funding isn't increased. Wages for employees are so low that often the only way they cn survive is by accepting bribesfrom or helping poachers and other illegal activity. The NPs are the last remaining major natural resource at Thailand's disposal and the need to be competently and professionally managed for conservation - dual pricing is just one symptom of how the entire National Park Sytem is mismanaged and damages both the country's conservation effects and reputation as a tourist destination. PS - I first visited Thailand in the early 1990s and lived and worked there for nearly 20 years. I've stayed at NPs all over the country and taken people on tours there - one of the main obstacles has always been sorting out the fees for visiting or staying there.

EXPATS - as a n expat I used to frequently talk my way into national parks at "local" rate but this has since been clamped down on y the higher echelons. the. thing is although passes for expats would be very nice, they don't actually address the problem. Single pricing would open up a Thai natural resource for TOURISM - and that would have an impact on income. It is of course, a double edged source as Thailand would then have to pull their finger out and start managing the parks in such a way that they can cope with higher visitor numbers (v Australia). The parks could be an important part of the tourist industry so long as te authorities don't "shoot" in their own nest, as they tend to do with most natural resources.

There will be no drop in income as the dual pricing fails to make any significant impact on that.

thcurrent pricing for foreigners for a caping trip to a national park can actually work out MORE than staying in a 3 or 4 star resort.. It's no wonder that only the very keen bother to visit. There is no benefit to income as some have suggested.

There is a lot of examples racism on this site but dual pricing isn't one of them. The pricing is based on the assumption that foreigners are richer than Thai visitors and the extra money raised will contribute to the maintenance of the parks. This is patently not true - but it isn't racism. In fact it is those who claim it to be racist who are the racists. White rcisits love to claim that other ethnicities are "racist against them". Racists see racism everywhere in other ethnicities and then deny their own actions are racist - coincidence??

They've already stopped - that's the problem. As dual pricing has been in force for decades, te idea of "stopping" is likely to have little or no effect. Any change can only become apparent when prices are equalised - only them=n will we see an increase in foreign visitors. For the last 30 years, this dual pricing system, far from increasing revenue, has only had the effect of making foreigners feel unwelcome.

Australia has some of the best management of national parks and Thailand just continues to ignore this.

I know where he's coming from. I've had very frustrating confrontations with Thailand's CS. The problem is if they can't solve your problem "by the book" and it won't go away, they often just dig their feet in and refuse to do anything at all. At some point you either have to give up or try to point out they are using face.