Thailand needs less guides - but higher quality with better language skills and knowledge

 

Picture: Tourist Police

 

Thai Channel 7 TV followed up on the visit of Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal to the Sanam Luang area of Bangkok yesterday investigating the issue of illegal guides.

 

The job of guide is reserved for Thais.

 

The media said that many are foreigners taking Thai jobs - but it is not as simple as that. One official was interviewed saying that the reason foreigners had carved a niche in the business was that they had better language skills than Thais and better knowledge of the places and history than Thais.

 

They reported that there were about 83,000 guides working in Thailand but only about half were properly registered.

 

Surachet said in addressing the media that Thailand needs only about 50,000 guides.

 

He commented that moves were being made by the relevant ministry to ensure that standards of Thai guides improve in terms of language ability and knowledge of the places they were taking the tourists to.

 

Source: Channel 7 TV

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-03-16

3 minutes ago, webfact said:

One official was interviewed saying that the reason foreigners had carved a niche in the business was that they had better language skills than Thais and better knowledge of the places and history than Thais.

 

Ouch!

 

15 minutes ago, webfact said:

and knowledge of the places they were taking the tourists to.

i live in a well-known tourist area, not long ago i couldn't help but overhear a thai guide explaining the local market to a group of farang tourists, i couldn't help but laugh as he 'explained' pretty much everything wrong

Pathetic bunch! As if the issue is illegal guides! The language skills in Thailand are the worst in Asia !


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32 minutes ago, markaoffy said:

Pathetic bunch! As if the issue is illegal guides! The language skills in Thailand are the worst in Asia !


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Just waiting for the 'Thais don't need to speak English / Chinese because Tourist guides in Europe can't speak Thai blah blah blah'.

 

 

 

Quote

They reported that there were about 83,000 guides working in Thailand but only about half were properly registered.

Maybe TAT should make registration easier?  Currently, tour guides must obtain insurance, which costs about THB 100,000 per year, in order for a company to register for a tourism guide license on their behalf.

 

Quote

Surachet said in addressing the media that Thailand needs only about 50,000 guides.

35 million tourist arrivals a year, and this idiot thinks that 50,000 tour guides are all that is needed?  Obviously a Thai labor protectionist, the type that keeps Thailand locked in the 20th century.

Edited March 16, 20188 yr by zaphod reborn

I would not say that Thailand needs less guides, I would say it needs FEWER guides, but with better language skills.

 

And there, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the problem in a nutshell.

 

 

Thai guides are just as useless as the zombies in hardware stores. Only use I can think of is to provide carbon dioxide for plants.

18 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Thai guides are just as useless as the zombies in hardware stores. Only use I can think of is to provide carbon dioxide for plants.

hardware stores, computer shops, construction companies, professors ,and any other shop....never ever have i learned something from the sales..if you just google and read for 3 minutes you know more than all the shopemployee's together.

 

It's very simple, walk in shop and look around...if you don't see what you're looking for it's a mai mee....if you ask questions (in thai or english before we get that) they'll ask/call their collegues who also have no clue at all..

 

So only look around and if you don't see it go to another shop. And at the end you'll buy it online.

 

 

I don't use guides anywhere in Asia... I can spend 20 minutes online to print/save to pdf info about places we go and that's already 300% more than their knowledge

What language skills

 

" <deleted> you Farang"  seems clear and precise to me, and appears to be the only universal words of English spoken by Thais. .

Speaking of better language skills, it should be fewer guides not less guides.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

One official was interviewed saying that the reason foreigners had carved a niche in the business was that they had better language skills than Thais and better knowledge of the places and history than Thais.

Arrest the guy and send him for 100 AA sessions. He likely wants to call for a revolution staring with the education system.

An off topic trolling post has been removed. 

if thais spent as much time learning to speak better English as they spend spinning reasons about why they cant..........Amusing Thailand ''land of excuses''....

10 out of 10 for him recognizing the problems and actually addressing them. There are very few people here who can openly admit that there is a problem which needs to be solved. 

Let's hope they implement a good plan which will help, improve and educate the tour guides. 

I've seldom taken a tour guide when travelling, but the ones I sometimes overhear here in Thailand aren't particularly competent. 

20 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Just waiting for the 'Thais don't need to speak English / Chinese because Tourist guides in Europe can't speak Thai blah blah blah'.

Or they will require the tourists to learn Thai before coming to Thailand...