Paradise lost: Tourists disappearing from Thai island as jet ski gangs move in

[soalbundy]

4 hours ago, BobBKK said:

No doubt they have 'connections' and can ply their 'trade' unhindered. 

but it's the tourists that feed them, no tourists, no jet ski

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, ChrisY1 said:

Just another issue affecting tourism that the dopey authorities ignore....they're stupid and it shows!

Jet skis have the approval of the authorities and they have promoted them accordingly.

The Tourism authorities have previously taken advantage of the jet ski fad. In 2017 tourism Minister Mrs Kobkarn nominated Thailand as Hub of Jet skis and included in the Hub activities was International Jet ski competitions.

This was at the same time as she nominated Thailand as the Hub of High Speed Jet Plane Racing. 

 

 

[Charlie1]

What about those VERY LOUD longtail boats?

[banagan]

They should have warnings at the airports not to go near these things. 

[Mitkof Island]

Beach chairs, girly bars, jet boats obnoxious foreigners:  See ya!

[RichardColeman]

Er, just like to point out that if the guy is saying their are no tourists coming due to the jet skis, then the jet skiers have no market ! Which can be seen by the cue to rent them there on the beach !

[ianezy0]

6 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Er, just like to point out that if the guy is saying their are no tourists coming due to the jet skis, then the jet skiers have no market ! Which can be seen by the cue to rent them there on the beach !

The post is about privately owned jetskis 

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

This is just one more nail in the coffin of Thai tourism. These scams that remain addressed after all of these years, remain a blight on the land. 

Separate franchisers, Army & Police.

 

The cops making their tea money from sources such as, bars, massage parlors, jet ski operators, yaba, traffic fines, to name a few, while the army has taken over the biggest fish, i.e. the country, just saying......

[StayinThailand2much]

3 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

I personally hate jet skis. Noisy, dangerous to swimmers and abusive to everything in the water. Ban them all.

Same here. One of the reasons I hardly ever visit beaches in Thailand anymore.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Locals are calling on the authorities to investigate. They believe that the jet skis have no right to be there and are damaging the environment as well as the livelihoods of tour operators and tourist businesses.

When locals complain you know it's bad for business.

[lifeincnx]

That is such a shame.

Used to vacation at a great spot in Baja Mexico, but then the jet skis moved in, along with a few rental ATVs. I quit going there, as did most of us Gringos, except for the uber-cheap tourists and moved to better, quieter, more pristine beaches further South. Once the missing wallet collapsed the local tourist industry in that particular beach town, the jet skis were outlawed and it took years for the area to climb back.
 

[dotpoom]

5 hours ago, BobBKK said:

No doubt they have 'connections' and can ply their 'trade' unhindered. 

What trade ...it didn't say they were owned by people who  rent them out...?

[Montnoveau]

1 hour ago, transam said:

In the right place they are, kids, parents etc that would like a swim off the beach  will not bother, too dangerous....Unfortunately those in control are doing nothing or turning a blind eye regarding beach/shallow water safety, I wonder why..... That reminds me, must post that letter/envelope tomorrow...

Because as on the roads, god (or buddah in these cases) is my co-pilot, nothing will happen to ME.

[sawadee1947]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

 

Very wise advice. I pretty much do the same. When I am confronted with a Thai who is annoyed with me, I tend to just defer, and be polite. It is usually defused within a matter of seconds, when humility is shown. Almost seems to come as a surprise to the angry men who are so easily offended. It is never a good idea to engage in a fight with a Thai person. Never. Only under the most extreme circumstances, when your life is being threatened. You never win. If you kick their ass you lose, and that is if seven other Thai guys do not get involved. And if they kick your ass you lose. Just refrain. I get infuriated from time to time. But, I have learned to not mouth off, and I always attempt to show respect.

 

When I first arrived I lived on Samui, and the road monsters there used to really piss me off. I had a guy cut me off on my motorbike, and nearly cause an accident, and I pulled up next to him to say something. He tried to run me off of a cliff! He never thought twice about it. Just a natural instinct, for someone that questioned what he did. How can you fight something like that? No point in getting into a fight with a guy who looks 40, but is actually 13, and has homicidal intentions!

 

 

Have a gun, shoot first...

Sometimes I wish....Same as built in machine guns in front of my car... 

Just dreaming... ????????????

[British Bulldog]

I would have thought that the problem was relatively simple to solve, allocate Jet sking areas, same for windboard riders, same for motor boat parking area (tourist and private boat parking areas) and then try to leave some secluded beach areas for the public to swim in unharmed and unhasseled by the latter mentioned ... other Countries do it, its rare that you find surfers around local dippers and alike ... all patrolled. Whoops .... silly me ... getting carried away here .... this is Thailand.

[Captain 776]

I need to write that book.

Do’s n Dont’s for Thailand

[ToddinChonburi]

Noise piece of junk running around Jomtein beach lately.

[Pedrogaz]

I know it is good for the economy, but I would be very pleased if tourists just stopped coming here....there would be adequate service then from the one or two lanes open at immigration at Suvarnabhumi, we might have less inflation and the baht would come down to sensible levels for those of us who live here.

[APJ291]

6 hours ago, Kenneth OSHEA said:

Hope they stay away from Koh Chang????

Thank Buddha that they have been banned on Koh Chang for over the last 20 years or so as KC and the surrounding islands are all classed as a national park.

[shy coconut]

2 hours ago, ianezy0 said:

The post is about privately owned jetskis 

I thought it was about poor driving standards, angry, violent Thai men and the fact

that all the hotels will converted to schools whilst university under grads learn 

about the fall of the local tourist industry!

 

[bimmerbob]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The jet ski operators on Samui, Phuket and Pattaya have long been a plague on the land. Most of the operators are surly, many are armed, and willing to commit violence and threats against their customers, at the slightest sign of resistance to their scams. Plus, they are a nuisance, a danger to swimmers, and benefit nobody expect the operators, and the local police franchisees. The often claim damage to their equipment, and extort large sums out of tourists, who unwittingly get the police (the local franchisee) involved, who then "negotiate" down the fine. All of it is very unseemly, and despite proclamations by the weak and hapless army, nothing has ever been done about this ongoing criminal enterprise, for more than a two week period, without any follow up (which is typical of everything the army does). 

 

This is just one more nail in the coffin of Thai tourism. These scams that remain addressed after all of these years, remain a blight on the land. 

Well said!

[GordonP]

A submarine and a few dozen torpedoes would sort it out. 

[mngmn]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 

Very wise advice. I pretty much do the same. When I am confronted with a Thai who is annoyed with me, I tend to just defer, and be polite. It is usually defused within a matter of seconds, when humility is shown. Almost seems to come as a surprise to the angry men who are so easily offended. It is never a good idea to engage in a fight with a Thai person. Never. Only under the most extreme circumstances, when your life is being threatened. You never win. If you kick their ass you lose, and that is if seven other Thai guys do not get involved. And if they kick your ass you lose. Just refrain. I get infuriated from time to time. But, I have learned to not mouth off, and I always attempt to show respect.

 

When I first arrived I lived on Samui, and the road monsters there used to really piss me off. I had a guy cut me off on my motorbike, and nearly cause an accident, and I pulled up next to him to say something. He tried to run me off of a cliff! He never thought twice about it. Just a natural instinct, for someone that questioned what he did. How can you fight something like that? No point in getting into a fight with a guy who looks 40, but is actually 13, and has homicidal intentions!

 

 

But what you don't explain is why you continue live in this lawless land?

[mike787]

4 hours ago, ChipButty said:

And no TM-30's

I agree  that TM30 is BS.

[metisdead]

A post containing a link to Phuketwan has been removed as per this forum rule:

 

26) The Bangkok Post and Phuketwan do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on Thaivisa.com. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to Bangkok Post or Phuketwan publications will be deleted from the forum.

[Japhrodisiac]

6 hours ago, smew said:

Sad and all true.... next year tourist numbers will reveal the real story of the stare of Thai tourism.

No, the official numbers will be up no matter what really happens, as they have for years and years. people on the ground know better, but no tourist minister is going to say they are doing a bad job

[outsider]

Let them. Let the entire industry suffer so much there is nothing left for these gangsters and scammers. Alternative destinations already exist and these dinosaurs are still waiting for a boat that has long set sail. Gone are the days when Thailand is a viable destination - strong currency or not. Stories of scams, accidents, lack of safety for tourists and the continued rhetoric against foreigners are too loud and frequent to be ignored. People are going elsewhere. Thailand's tourism industry needs to go through a hard reset - figuratively and literally. Until then, it is "See you again, Thailand."

[Penicillin]

6 hours ago, keystonecoppers2 said:

 

 

                Just ignore the buggers. Do not engage in any talk or renting from them.

                They will dissappear when business is down to zero.

                But you, who live there, tell the tourists about their scams.

                It`s your duty to do so, if you want your nice beach to be just that, nice!

 

                They came to my beach, some years ago, 3-4 jetski came in for a try.

                As the beach is National protected, the local police told them to

                get lost, fast!  Problem solved!!   

Unfortunately,  there are always a fair number of naive newbie tourists  waiting to be fleeced.  Last year I saw two young Korean girls give their handbags to Parasail operators to “hold for them” while they went on rides.  I went over and told the girls they should take their valuables with them at all times....which they did.   I got an earful (in Thai) from the ticket sellers that obvious saw an opportunity lost. 

[Penicillin]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 

Very wise advice. I pretty much do the same. When I am confronted with a Thai who is annoyed with me, I tend to just defer, and be polite. It is usually defused within a matter of seconds, when humility is shown. Almost seems to come as a surprise to the angry men who are so easily offended. It is never a good idea to engage in a fight with a Thai person. Never. Only under the most extreme circumstances, when your life is being threatened. You never win. If you kick their ass you lose, and that is if seven other Thai guys do not get involved. And if they kick your ass you lose. Just refrain. I get infuriated from time to time. But, I have learned to not mouth off, and I always attempt to show respect.

 

When I first arrived I lived on Samui, and the road monsters there used to really piss me off. I had a guy cut me off on my motorbike, and nearly cause an accident, and I pulled up next to him to say something. He tried to run me off of a cliff! He never thought twice about it. Just a natural instinct, for someone that questioned what he did. How can you fight something like that? No point in getting into a fight with a guy who looks 40, but is actually 13, and has homicidal intentions!

 

 

13?  Perhaps you are giving them a decade more credit than many deserve. 

[Davo369]

Nearly every day i see people getting fxxxk over on jet ski scams on chaweng and lamai a couple of years ago. Some Chinese guy got done 80,000 bhat

For a silly scratch on the jet ski.  there was 2 rival jet ski companys on chaweng they had a argument and one of the thai guys shoots the other dead in front of tourists. How about that