Phuket tour boat disaster: Wave of cancellations spurs damage-control offensive

The Phuket News

 

Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong made it clear today that the sinking of the Phoenix tour boat, which killed 47 Chinese tourists, was not only a disaster for Phuket but also an ‘important national interest’. Photo: PR Dept
 

PHUKET: Top-ranking officials and the Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) today began rolling out their campaign to limit the fallout from the Phoenix tour boat disaster which killed 47 Chinese tourists last week as fears grow over the volume of tour cancellations from mainland China.

 

Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong headed a meeting this morning (July 14) joined by Vice Admiral Somnuk Preampramot, Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, based at Cape Panwa, and no less than the Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Yuthasak Supasorn.

 

Also present were the heads of relevant government agencies and representatives of hotel operators and tour operators.

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-tour-boat-disaster-wave-of-cancellations-spurs-damage-control-offensive-67881.php#vC1iXjQVjdPGqvfB.97

 

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2018-07-15

It was a disaster for 47 Chinese families... Anything else is irrelevant !!

No surprising at all, i wish tourists will boycott all travel to Thailand that involve all kinds of leisure activities transportations until the Thai authorities will fix the reckless and irresponsible attitudes toward people safety including their own once it hit them in the pocets... 

Clearly, this is a tragedy of horrible proportions, and Thailand must take thier responsibility for all that happens because still having ancient safety plans and not the right equpiment in most cases. There are a lot of people that can be blamed here, but it is mainly going to come down to the boat owner that didn´t equip his boat with the right equipment as well as not living up the standard and regulation. Aside from that a big part must also fall on the authoritties that over and over again do not do their inspection or still can be payed to let the misery continue.

However, there is one more very relevant part in this regarding Thailand and it´s blooming tourism. Maybe now they start to see that they can not concentrate on only one country, because when that fails out of some reason there is nothing to fall back on. With that said, it´s also time for Thailand to see all tourists and all nationalities on the same level regarding value for the continuance of a blooming tourism. In other cases countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos will soon catch up and take a big part of broken flowers, re-plant them and nourish them to satisfaction.

“In case of an emergency, the tour operator should have photos of all the passengers. It is very important that the photos can be used to compare the identity of a person with a forensic examination. This reduces the time required to perform identity verification tasks quickly and efficiently,” he added.

 The Thai obsession with generating ever more layers of bureaucracy.

I still want to know why they called off the search at night. I guess this will never be explained and i do hope chinese people share that information.

I saw the response. It was massive. But it took 2 days after the sinking. A massive recovery mission is what it was.

Also the pier and erea were cleaned up nicely before the media and big boss arrived.  All the rotting trash and oil discard spills etc.

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

"as fears grow over the volume of tour cancellations from mainland China"

So what's TAT's suggestion then - replace the locally made life-jackets with Chinese made ones?

Same-same but not different, could be an attempt at face-saving.

 

They need to make a promise to kill less people in future. 

5 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

They need to make a promise to kill less people in future. 

It is just that it follows physical law.

 

The number of tourists killed by unregulated,  poorly trained personnel and un-seaworthy vessels is directly proportional to the sum of the tea money provided by the unscrupulous operators and that skimmed off from government safety projects,   all squared.

4 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

It is just that it follows physical law.

 

The number of tourists killed by unregulated,  poorly trained personnel and un-seaworthy vessels is directly proportional to the sum of the tea money provided by the unscrupulous operators and that skimmed off from government safety projects,   all squared.

I like your law.

"all squared", that's the frightening bit - for the unscrupulous operators anyway. I'm sure they'll find a way to rip off some more customers in order to 'cover costs'.

 

i wish people would stop calling them LIFE JACKETS they were *BUOYANCY AIDS* a totally different kettle of fish, used for water sking etc,  (water skier) they will not turn you over like a proper LIFE JACKET would, a non swimmer would have a big problem trying to turn over in the water wearing one, that is why many drowned wearing one,ANY SAFETY INSPECTOR, (what is that) would say these  jackets are NOT life savers, totally the wrong jacket to have on a pleasure boat

3 minutes ago, mercman24 said:

i wish people would stop calling them LIFE JACKETS they were *BUOYANCY AIDS* a totally different kettle of fish, used for water sking etc,  (water skier) they will not turn you over like a proper LIFE JACKET would, a non swimmer would have a big problem trying to turn over in the water wearing one, that is why many drowned wearing one,ANY SAFETY INSPECTOR, (what is that) would say these  jackets are NOT life savers, totally the wrong jacket to have on a pleasure boat

Most died wearing one because they were inside wearing one and couldn't get out.

 

The 'poor ones' will be needed beside proper ones to keep them afloat while snorkeling.

9 minutes ago, mercman24 said:

i wish people would stop calling them LIFE JACKETS they were *BUOYANCY AIDS* a totally different kettle of fish, used for water sking etc,  (water skier) they will not turn you over like a proper LIFE JACKET would, a non swimmer would have a big problem trying to turn over in the water wearing one, that is why many drowned wearing one,ANY SAFETY INSPECTOR, (what is that) would say these  jackets are NOT life savers, totally the wrong jacket to have on a pleasure boat

OK, point taken. I for one stand corrected. Before your post, I would not have known there were two different items.

I like your reference to 'kettle of fish' regarding this!

 

If/when Thai;and implements the kinds of safety measures that exist in the west the country will no longer an affordable destination for the majority of low-end budget travelers that currently come from China. Simple as that. As others have also mentioned, there is now a dangerously high reliance on the tourists China. According to TAT it is around 25%. That could go badly wrong if Chinese tourists turn to other destinations. some have mentioned Cambodia. Well at the moment Cambodia simply doesn't have the infrastructure to handle 10 million Chinese tourists.  However, the Cambodians are building casinos to attract the Chinese. That will no doubt put a dent in things. There are also other factors at play that make health and safety issues for tourists difficult for Thais to manage. One is the chain-of-command structure which was shown to be flawed in the recent cave rescue as well as the boat sinking in Phuket. There are 'turf wars' that exist that extend from the 'meat wagons' (private ambulances) chasing accident victims around town, to who gets to hire out emergency equipment and which hospital gets the victims.  And on it goes. Always have good insurance cover and be extra cautious here.

Of course....no mention of his people issuing licences and business approvals.

This guy is at the top.....! 

Blah,blah,blah,blub blah. the slow genocide of tourists seems to be gathering pace.i can't think of any other country where so many tourists die.thailand surely must be number 1.

Unless there is a wave of "safety control and enforcement" measures and not just a band-aid fix, I hope the cancellations continue. 

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

as fears grow over the volume of tour cancellations from mainland China.

Money first, then look at rectification.   Forever making Thailand look cheap.   They  should just focus on one thing:  safety.  The cave indecent should be a lesson in that.

Many more cancellations are needed just to waken up the authorities here.

Safety is none existent here, they only talk about it after a tragedy has occured.

No one mentions the standards for land transportation, which are much more frightening than the boats, specially when looking at the number of people involved.

Most of the mini van drivers as just brain dead, as I can witness this every single day.

This boat accident is sad but not even the tip of an iceberg, much bigger than anyone can imagine. And 5.000.000 Chinese tourist less p.a. for a while would be good for many in this country. Just can't stand 'em anymore, as many others can't.

No planning, no maintenance, no regulations, much corruption=no safety=death and destruction=less tourists.

The problem is deeply ingrained in Thai culture. No Thai likes to be told what to do, and if they don't want to do something they won't. One example is the not wearing of helmets on motorcycles. And many Thais are lazy. One example is the police, who rarely bother to enforce the law even though it is being broken in front of their eyes.

 

And that extends to local officials whose job it was to control the boats in Phuket. They didn't, because they didn't want to and have no clue that the rules are there for a purpose, to safeguard lives. They are unable to join the dots. Add in the payoffs to look the other way in a country that is corrupt from top to bottom, with many seeing nothing wrong with that if they can make money or obtain some other advantage from it, and you have an insoluble situation. Talk from government officials will never change any of that.

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

Many more cancellations are needed just to waken up the authorities here.

Safety is none existent here, they only talk about it after a tragedy has occured.

It is my belief that the Authorities here cannot be " woken up ".

They all seem too entrenched in feathering their own nests to give a toss about anything other that  " Me ".

Centuries of corruption and Kowtelling have given Thailand the Society and infrastructure of Command and leadership that is plainly on display every day for one and all to see.

How to change that ? I dont know

 

""Mr Yuthasak said that the response operations and the support provided to the victims and their families were performed well. “You did good, were fast, efficient,” he said"

 

A bit like closing the stable door afterwards.....the boat had sunk and people were dead !!

“If any boat is found leaving port without passing (the standards required by law), the case must be resolved, including removing officials,” Pm Prayut noted."

Dream on, he's living in a parallel universe.
This is Thailand.
Time to chase him and his fellows out next year.
Hopefully there will be some change

We hear exactly the same after every marine accident, and there have been quite a few of them, but still the rules continue to be flouted. Judging by the way that jet skis and parasailers operate on the beaches despite the regulations regarding operating businesses on the public beach, implies to me that the marine police are amongst most corrupt officials on the island and compliance with boat safety should surely be under their jurisdiction, therefore it's no surprise that unseaworthy, overloaded vessels are allowed to set to sea. 

 

Where's Big Joke when you need him?

Yes that marine disaster is a huge ''inconvenience ''for Thailand...

8 hours ago, Deli said:

No one mentions the standards for land transportation, which are much more frightening than the boats, specially when looking at the number of people involved.

Most of the mini van drivers as just brain dead, as I can witness this every single day.

This boat accident is sad but not even the tip of an iceberg, much bigger than anyone can imagine. And 5.000.000 Chinese tourist less p.a. for a while would be good for many in this country. Just can't stand 'em anymore, as many others can't.

They're savages who shouldn't be allowed on a plane..... Coughing spitting animals

15 hours ago, Stoker58 said:

“In case of an emergency, the tour operator should have photos of all the passengers. It is very important that the photos can be used to compare the identity of a person with a forensic examination. This reduces the time required to perform identity verification tasks quickly and efficiently,” he added.

 The Thai obsession with generating ever more layers of bureaucracy.

Really wouldn’t be necessary if the bloody boats stayed afloat. 

Cancellations up...Tourism Down ..your reap what you sow.....great news for everyone living there who have had to put up with trash Chinese tourists and idiotic behavior by the locals that place all tourists and locals in harms way with their irresponsible ways...

Many people have said that these numbskulls will kill the golden goose and now it has arrived...

Still they will never admit being at fault because of their inability to own up to their mistakes...Now what will they do now that the money train has derailed???

<deleted> Morons!..are you still smiling?