Interior Ministry steps into Samui zoo entry dispute

next headline " could be " denied entry family found out to be an obnoxious lot and just demanded too much ......

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

In shallow men the fish of little thoughts cause much commotion. In oceanic minds the whales of inspiration make hardly a ruffle.

You don't need to comment as I expect you to be offended, as usual.

I was going to question how all responses to posts were available but this members post has the question mark and thumbs down option removed for the first post saying it won't go well for the owner 🤔

Edited August 17Aug 17 by ronster

Whatever, I still think it's wrong, This could just backfire on the zoo where people just avoid going, whoever they are, In the past in Pattaya and Phuket bars with signs "No Arabs" "No Indians" recently in Phuket town a shop charging Chinese tourist for browsing in the shop,

2 hours ago, jippytum said:

Business owners should have the right to refuse entry to unwated customer's

True, but the reason must be reasonable, and within the law.

3 hours ago, jippytum said:

Business owners should have the right to refuse entry to unwated customer's

I agree and always thought that was then case. Back in the 90's when was in Cairns AU. in transit to Phuket I wanted to buy a video camera. At that time Cairns was being invaded by Japanese investors who bought up all the big hotels and the tourists flooded in by the planeload every day .They also took over all the duty free stores and I walked into one of them to look at the cameras. All the writing in the store and all price tickets were in Japanese as were the staff. A bloke in a suit came up to me and told me in no uncertain terms that this shop was for Japanese only and I was not welcolme. I didn't feel like arguing and was gonna ask him who won WW2 but I just walked out.

That guy is a lunatic, that "zoo" is a disgrace, and authorities really should look into it.

8 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

Wow, wow, wow! It looks like this has indeed become a serious matter. I have a feeling it is not going to go well for the zoo owner.

I think the opposite, because zoo owner deserves a medal of honor!!! should be awarded a price for doing the right thing

the zoo owner has all the rights to prevent unacceptable people without manners, this should be done across all Thailand so the people from there stops coming.

39 minutes ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

That guy is a lunatic, that "zoo" is a disgrace, and authorities really should look into it.

He is a champion, authorities should award this guy with a medal.

Israeli tourists are as agreeable as any other. Can't blame the failures of a nation on one citizen. Bibi & Itamar, yes, should be denied entry. It's shameful to present this kind of prejudice in front of little children.

Who ever heard of Palestinian tourists? This has got to be a joke, right? Those in Palestine are living in tents, those evicted are stateless. The only others are Palestinian-<something>. Have you ever met one???

6 hours ago, brfsa2 said:

the zoo owner has all the rights to prevent unacceptable people without manners, this should be done across all Thailand so the people from there stops coming.

There is no evidence whatsoever the Israeli mother and father with two daughters aged 6 and 9 behaved in an inappropriate manner. They were excluded solely on the basis of their nationality and that apparently clashes with Thai law.

Thailand may see a million or more tourists from Israel this year. There were 500,000 in the first four months. I doubt the Thai government as well as most businesses on Koh Samui want them to stop coming.

Indeed it looks like the opposite, that there was a heated argument once the French-Arab co-owner was summoned who then headbutted the Israeli father and threw a sign at them as the Israeli family walked away.

One can understand the ire of the Israeli family, who were refused entry.

The owners justify the blanket ban on previous bad experiences with Israelis, but it seems clear looking at the French owner that he is of Arab origin and the animosity towards Israelis is of a political nature.

It is not acceptable to treat a family this way, which has done no wrong, and I suspect the Thai authorities will communicate this to the French owner, who will cave in and allow Israelis to enter.

The problematic thing now is that this Zoo will become a magnet for Israeli hardliners who will misbehave there on purpose and if the French owner is forced to admit the Israelis there could be all kinds of incidents. Should be interesting to watch.

12 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

Over many decades, I cannot remember the number of USA tourists I have encountered who claim to be Canadians in order to avoid inter-personal conflicts in the countries they are visiting over the overseas aggression of various US governments.

I remember the days when American backpackers would sew the Canadian flag onto their backpacks, for the same reason you mention.

17 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

He described the issue as a disagreement between the zoo management and expatriates living on the island, rather than tourists.

Here’s what Thai officials do best…DEFLECT.

“He described the issue as a disagreement between the zoo management and expatriates living on the island, rather than tourists.”

So to clarify, the gov official said this isn’t a tourist issue.

They are expats.

The Zoo is only for tourists????

Smart man he's not getting drawn into Jewish/Israeli stuff which is what the family wants or wanted.🤫