Chinese tourist numbers fall as Phuket boat capsize deaths highlight Thailand’s terrible safety record

Tom Tuohy

South China Morning Post

 

Chinese tourists make up a quarter of Thailand’s visitors, but after the handling of the recent boat accident in which 47 Chinese tourists died, and with the kingdom’s lax attitude to safety, authorities need to act quickly and decisively to retain Thailand’s tourism revenue

 

The boat accident that claimed the lives of 47 Chinese nationals off the Thai resort island of Phuket last month has shone a spotlight on the kingdom’s poor safety record and spread unease among tourism authorities and the government.

 

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports said last week it had revised down its forecast for the number of Chinese arrivals for July to December by nearly 670,000, to 5.1 million, but insisted that Thailand would still achieve its target of 11 million Chinese tourists in 2018.

 

The Phoenix was carrying 105 people – mostly Chinese – when it capsized in rough weather while returning from a popular snorkelling site on July 5. It was among three vessels that ventured out in spite of a bad weather warning. Chinese tourists accounted for almost a quarter of Thailand’s 35 million visitors in 2017, according to the ministry.

 

Full story: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2159959/chinese-tourist-numbers-fall-phuket-boat-capsize-deaths

 

-- South China Morning Post 2018-2018-08-17

34 minutes ago, webfact said:

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports said last week it had revised down its forecast for the number of Chinese arrivals for July to December by nearly 670,000, to 5.1 million, but insisted that Thailand would still achieve its target of 11 million Chinese tourists in 2018.

All about tourism targets and nothing about fixing the safety problem. The authorities treat tourism safety in the same dismissive way they treat road safety. They couldn't care less; people's lives means nothing to them. 

Edited August 17, 20187 yr by Cadbury

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

The boat accident that claimed the lives of 47 Chinese nationals off the Thai resort island of Phuket last month has shone a spotlight on the kingdom’s poor safety record

It  is pretty sad that a major tragedy has to happen to bring it into the spotlight.

 

They are more worried about tourist numbers than actual safety of people !

The last rites should be given with an entry stamp to every tourist coming here especially the Chinese this year?

Hey TAT!

 

This is the South China Morning Post, not some wee, tiny paper that no one reads.

 

Unless you want some bad, bad numbers and the resulting lower GNP number, you should really pull the thumb out and get to work on safety issues.

 

 

The Chinese have a lot of gall to be pointing fingers. Their own safety track record is abysmal (from what we're allowed to hear about).  

Safety is just not the BiB's or any other Thai government agency's strong suit.  Big Joke prances around busting over stayers, while the country is unsafe.  This is big news in China.  Every Chinese person has heard about the death of 46 people due to negligence.  Nobody has heard how safety will improve.  

15 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

The Chinese have a lot of gall to be pointing fingers. Their own safety track record is abysmal (from what we're allowed to hear about).  

Your point has historical facts to back it up , but China, unlike Thailand, improves every year.  I was standing near a cross walk and cars just stopped to let me cross.  I was dumbfounded by the politeness.  Police actually patrol, building codes are enforced and some parts of China feel safe.   Not saying it is perfect, but every year there seems to be improvement.   Thailand is a different story all together. 

Tourism will not be affected...…..yeah, right. Maybe this will shatter their allusion that the rest of the world is stupid!

I agree with the TAT. Thailands tourism industry wont be affected much in the long run.  Maybe not at all. Thailand attracts the cheap charlie Chinese tourist on pre paid tours. The wealthier Chinese go elsewhere.

Meanwhile the previous story was all about the friendly Thai cop tying a little girl to dad then allowing them both to drive off without helmets.  The Thai consensus was praise for the cop!

On 8/17/2018 at 8:16 AM, davehowden said:

It's because he gets the sh..ts too much !

 

5 minutes ago, mikebell said:

Meanwhile the previous story was all about the friendly Thai cop tying a little girl to dad then allowing them both to drive off without helmets.  The Thai consensus was praise for the cop!

Brilliant, when tourists go boating they should be tied to liferafts.

Thai people have extreme emotions only: the get angry or they love; they feel happy or sad. They lack a wide range of emotions in the middle. Watch car and scooter accidents. In most advanced countries, people witnessing horrific crashes feel strong emotions. Thais feel nothing. The dead tourists are just negative tourism numbers, that's it and that's messed up.

16 minutes ago, soistalker said:

Thai people have extreme emotions only: the get angry or they love; they feel happy or sad. They lack a wide range of emotions in the middle. Watch car and scooter accidents. In most advanced countries, people witnessing horrific crashes feel strong emotions. Thais feel nothing. The dead tourists are just negative tourism numbers, that's it and that's messed up.

As the Buddha said....follow the middle path...between the extremes. I fear something was lost in translation

As i understand it, it was a Chinese owned company with the boat captained by  Thai.... who is to blame??? The Chinese company for letting idiots captain the boat or Thais for taking the boat out is terrible weather???

3 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Safety is just not the BiB's or any other Thai government agency's strong suit.  Big Joke prances around busting over stayers, while the country is unsafe.  This is big news in China.  Every Chinese person has heard about the death of 46 people due to negligence.  Nobody has heard how safety will improve.  

 

They call him big joke for a good reason. He is a big joke. He focuses on things that make no difference to anyone. He makes sure that nothing he does improves the well being of the nation. The entire administration is guilty of the same thing. Total and complete incompetence on every level possible. For all of them, it is only about the money. The well being of the average Thai person is NEVER factored into any decision. 

 

The goons in charge are focusing their efforts in all the wrong areas. They are trying to make Thailand a Quaker State. A land of purity. Total BS. Nonsense. Misplaced priorities, and wasted efforts. They should be focusing their efforts on traffic and public safety, easing import tariffs, making visa policy simpler, and more friendly, boosting Western tourism, real crackdowns on slavery, and illegal fishing instead of nonsensical hyperbole, cleaning up the water, the air, the rivers, and the beaches, and other things that actually improve lives.

 

The safety issues have been there for decades. Little to no effort is being made to improve traffic or public safety. Only lip service is being paid to the issue. The Chinese are reading about this, and hearing about this, and getting first hand stories from friends, family and neighbors who have returned. It is not encouraging. Thailand as usual is not doing enough. 

 

Little P. Not making Thailand great again. Doing absolutely nothing for the common man. And moving the nation backwards at an astonishing and alarming pace.  

50 % down in Chinese tourists = a BIG relieve for many

However, won't happen anyhow, they keep on coming, even if hell freezes.

18 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Hey TAT!

 

This is the South China Morning Post, not some wee, tiny paper that no one reads.

 

Unless you want some bad, bad numbers and the resulting lower GNP number, you should really pull the thumb out and get to work on safety issues.

 

 

 

It's an English language paper that I'd guess most of the Chinese who come to Thailand don't read. My observation while travelling is that the more educated/English speaking Chinese do not come to Thailand as they seek high standards. It would, therefore, be interesting to know how much similar coverage is being given in the Chinese language media.

Those of us who know Thailand well also know that there will be much talking and then little or nothing will be done. Too many influential people with fingers in the pie/laziness and apathy/too hard. And they also know that in a few months it will all be forgotten and numbers will return to normal. Tourism has survived far worse - coups, street riots, tsunami. Despite the tsunami disaster, Phuket was soon back to gouging tourists from every angle. They don't call this Teflon Thailand for nothing.

19 hours ago, Cadbury said:

All about tourism targets and nothing about fixing the safety problem. The authorities treat tourism safety in the same dismissive way they treat road safety. They couldn't care less; people's lives means nothing to them. 

The reality is safety equates directly to money, always has and always will ? 

$$$ #1 with us humans, invest as little as possible, maximize profits ? 

Safety pays when you are making money, ask any insurer? ?

19 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Hey TAT!

 

This is the South China Morning Post, not some wee, tiny paper that no one reads.

 

Unless you want some bad, bad numbers and the resulting lower GNP number, you should really pull the thumb out and get to work on safety issues.

 

 

I had a conversation with a Chinese dignitary just this past week and if the PM does not step up and show some compassion and action  the numbers will fall below the 35% drop they've already been hit with ...  I think you are absolutely right... 

4 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Safety is just not the BiB's or any other Thai government agency's strong suit.  Big Joke prances around busting over stayers, while the country is unsafe.  This is big news in China.  Every Chinese person has heard about the death of 46 people due to negligence.  Nobody has heard how safety will improve.  

"Big Joke prances around busting over stayers, while the country is unsafe."

I think most people would agree that Big Joke being the head of The Tourist Police, that is his job, since most overstayers are classed as tourists and many are a criminal element.    OTOH, busting illegal pharmacy labs should be in the domain of the Narcotics Police. 
Big Joke makes it look as if the entire RTP are sleeping in inactive post offices..

  

Visa free and VIP!  Come die with us!

21 hours ago, Cadbury said:

The authorities treat tourism safety in the same dismissive way they treat road safety

Only tourism safety? 

They mistreating the whole population (except themselves and cronies) 

The whole health and safety issue thing for tourists and residents alike is down to deep and widespread systemic corruption. Any problem they want to tackle has a snowflake's chance in hell of succeeding as long as you cannot enforce laws and rules because corruption has won out. Ironic that the Chinese are complaining, though they seem to be improving in terms of corruption in China. It was Chinese who owned the boat business and they likely were able to do that because of the corruption here. 

Edited August 18, 20187 yr by Shaunduhpostman

12 hours ago, lanista said:

I agree with the TAT. Thailands tourism industry wont be affected much in the long run.  Maybe not at all. Thailand attracts the cheap charlie Chinese tourist on pre paid tours. The wealthier Chinese go elsewhere.

Are you saying that the "cheap charlie" Chinese tourists don't mind dying when holidaying in Thailand?

On 8/17/2018 at 4:21 PM, from the home of CC said:

The Chinese have a lot of gall to be pointing fingers. Their own safety track record is abysmal (from what we're allowed to hear about).  

Irrelevant, given who wants what from whom. China can turn off the tap and seriously disrupt the Thai (tourist) economy.

I don't see that Thailand is in much of a position to hit back at the moment - What exactly do they have in the arsenal to make Beijing quake in their boots by way of response?

They will make a movie about this. It could be a double billing with the cave movie.

 

Saddens me that so many lives were lost. But yes a movie or documentary may be the motivation to improve safety on passenger boats in the Kingdom

On 8/17/2018 at 4:21 PM, from the home of CC said:

The Chinese have a lot of gall to be pointing fingers. Their own safety track record is abysmal (from what we're allowed to hear about).  

The tragedy took place in Thailand and involved Chinese nationals.  Deaths of Chinese nationals inside China are another matter, reported or not. 

8 minutes ago, Benmart said:

The tragedy took place in Thailand and involved Chinese nationals.  Deaths of Chinese nationals inside China are another matter, reported or not. 

The Chinese newspapers etc were slagging Thailand in regards to safety. My comment highlights the hypocrisy -  unless you have your own house in order you have no business looking down your nose at others.

10 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Isn't that immigration?

The Tourist Police was specifically set up to assist tourists that were victims of crime. I remember back when it was formed. 

He seems to be a Joke of all trades. Immigration is a separate but allied division of the RTP, as you know.

Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal is the deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau.