Thai Government Aims to Elevate Koh Samui to Top 10 Most Attractive Islands Worldwide

[webfact]

On April 8th, 2024, Ms. Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, the Thai Tourism and Sports Minister, publicly revealed a Thai government policy to enhance Koh Samui to be one of the top 10 most attractive islands worldwide.

Recently, the Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin inspected Koh Samui, and Surat Thani, and discussed with locals regarding tourism and the economy.

 

Srettha aimed to have Koh Samui ranked in the top 10 globally most attractive islands. The Tourism and Sports Minister, President of the Koh Samui Tourism Promotion Association, and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would integrate to publicize its local identities including delicacy and the way of life, according to Sudawan.

 

Although current tourism in Koh Samui had returned to normal similar to the pre-COVID-19 period, local entrepreneurs such as masseuses and other specialties were in a shortage. Sudawan stated that the current number of specialty workers had been reduced from 120,000 individuals to 50,000 compared to the pre-covid 19 period.

 

By Kittisak Phalaharn

 

Full story: THE PATTAYA NEWS 2024-04-10

 

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[ryandb]

They've got a lot of work to do with just the garbage issue alone 

[proton]

It was 30 years ago before they managed to ruin most of it

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

would integrate to publicize its local identities including delicacy and the way of life

Now that will certainly propel them to the top. ;)

 

[ChrisY1]

Look out Bahamas......the Greek islands...the Italian islands...and so on....there's an enormous amount of competition...actually, Samui is zero competition to hundreds of places. The trash alone is bad enough....then there's the Russians....not forgetting the charming RTP!

[Tropicalevo]

People's views on Samui differ depending on their lifestyle.

Many people trash Samui as all that they see is Chaweng and Lamai - which are the main tourist towns.

My D-I-L and grandchildren are here for their fifth Songkran over the last 12 years. They think that Samui is great. They love it.

Quiet beaches and beautiful scenery. Stunning views from many restaurants. Good food and lovely local folk.

They never go to Chaweng, Lamai or Fisherman's Village.

[Henryford]

Just a shame you can't get to it without being ripped off by Bangkok Airways

[Tropicalevo]

59 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Just a shame you can't get to it without being ripped off by Bangkok Airways

Lots of ferry options. ⛴️🏝️

[crazykopite]

All pie in the sky Thais say all these things but they never carry them out 20 years ago they were going to build a 320 berth marina in Bangrak where is it !!!!

[crazykopite]

1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said:

People's views on Samui differ depending on their lifestyle.

Many people trash Samui as all that they see is Chaweng and Lamai - which are the main tourist towns.

My D-I-L and grandchildren are here for their fifth Songkran over the last 12 years. They think that Samui is great. They love it.

Quiet beaches and beautiful scenery. Stunning views from many restaurants. Good food and lovely local folk.

They never go to Chaweng, Lamai or Fisherman's Village.

I was at Fisherman’s a month ago with my two grandkids the sea was full of sewerage big turds ,used tampons in the water  maybe this lady need to get into her bathers and have a swim down there 

[paul1804]

As a Samui resident I can suggest a few changes that would make visitors experiences more pleasing. 

 

1) Yes all the blue waste pipes that run under the sand on Bophut beach from the business's beachside, disgraceful and the authorities do nothing so water quality is terrible. Provide public garbage bins around beaches and attractions would be an easy job.

2) Make the Surat Islands a separate province so the Governor is more tourist focused and hopefully address many of the Islands issues for the better of both tourists and residents. 

3) No public toilets in all the tourist centers accept at service stations which aren't at tourist areas. 

4) Enforce the using of meters by all Samui taxis then no ripoffs!

5) Teach motorists how to drive, enforce proper parking rules as many cars park in a narrow 2 lane road whilst they shop at convenience stores & markets causing huge traffic issues compounded in the high season. The driving standards on Samui are atrocious to say the least! 

6) Bangkok Airways monopoly puts many people off given the highest passenger flight charges in Thailand.

7) The collection of garbage is a real problem and water shortages are not so rare!

The are several other substantial issue's but maybe they are better left un said!

 

[paul1804]

3 hours ago, crazykopite said:

I was at Fisherman’s a month ago with my two grandkids the sea was full of sewerage big turds ,used tampons in the water  maybe this lady need to get into her bathers and have a swim down there 

Its been like this for years and the authorities do nothing about the blue waste pipes that run from the beachside business's directly into the water of Bophut beach. 

[Denim]

Just make it a hub of something or other then see that it gets a thorough lauding. That should do the trick.

[Mike Lister]

1 minute ago, Denim said:

Just make it a hub of something or other then see that it gets a thorough lauding. That should do the trick.

Hub of Islands perhaps, HOI for short.

[zhounan]

For the 99% of western tourists Koh Samui is a paradise on Earth.

So why don't try to get in the TOP 10?

[khunPer]

3 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

4 hours ago, Henryford said:

Just a shame you can't get to it without being ripped off by Bangkok Airways

Lots of ferry options. ⛴️🏝️

–And that was how you got to Samui back in time, when some people claims that it was paradise...

[Tropicalevo]

53 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

7) The collection of garbage is a real problem and water shortages are not so rare!

One main reason that there are no public bins is because most people who live on Samui do not pay the garbage collection tax. (This is a country wide tax.)

There used to be bins on the streets and they were heavily used, but the local government was loosing a lot of money on it . (The garbage trucks are contractors the last time that I enquired.)

So they removed the bins.

Most Thais burn their garbage or just dump it.

Most foreigners just dump it at the places where those of us who do pay the tax have a collection point.

All of our customers are registered with the Tessabaan and we pay the tax for them. We then take the garbage to a steel cage, on land that we rent, and it is collected by the trucks every day.

I often see 'strangers' dumping their garbage in our cage. (I drive past it daily.)

There are about 100 properties on the development where I live. Apart from the 20 or so that we look after, most , if not all of the others, do not pay the tax.

The worst offenders are the large 4 -6 bedroom properties. The owners have lots of money but they have short arms and deep pockets.

How many folk reading AN pay the garbage tax?

The last time I asked, many said 'I only rent - it's not my problem'. But it is your garbage!

 

We moved to Samui in 2000. Stayed in a hotel for a while and the hotel put bottled water in the bathroom for us to wash with and to flush the toilet.

For a shower, we went in the sea.

There was a water shortage.

As Paul wrote - it is not so rare.

[rwill]

I like a good laugh but this one hurts too much.

[khunPer]

The infrastructure – garbage, water, electricity, traffic – cannot handle a tourism boost, it already can not handle the existing demand. To make Samui a top-10 paradise it needs to be focussed on so-called "quality tourists" – i.e., those that can afford to pay a higher price, but also expect high service and quality – rather than budget mass tourism, then there will be fund to bring the island up to a reasonable top destination-standard from the tourist tax. Many former paradise islands and other great tourist destinations have been ruined by mass tourism, and now their residents complain; places like Canary Islands, Venice, Amsterdam etc.

 

Major things to be sorted out, before Samui will appear as a Top-10 destination:

Stable supply of water and electricity.

 

Fix what tourists see and complains about...

• Getting rid of the mountains of garbage piled up in the streets. They should be both replaced with garbage containers and more collection of garbage in the residential areas, so garbage don't need to be piled up in main roads.
• Force taxis to drive on meter; it's not so much the price that is a problem, but that a meter is not used. Set a higher start fee, which correspond to the actual costs of running a taxi-business of the island; if a taxi driver don't use the meter, the ride should be free, a sign in the taxis should say that.
• Public waste bins; look at Singapore as a great example.
• Repair side walks – Chaweng Beach, a major tourist center, is for example awful – again Singapore is a great example of how it can be in a tourist spot, compare for example with Sentosa Island.
• Make rules for beaches; so, some beaches are places with jet skies and parties; others more quiet without any jet ski and ideel for noiseless paddle boards and other swimming activities. It's not all tourists that enjoys noise.
• Maintain infrastructure, all down to street light lamps working, fixing holes in walk ways and especially keeping all tourist areas clean and in good looking condition; once again, Singapore's Sentosa is an excellent example.

[spidermike007]

30 or 40 years ago Samui was quite a paradise, but these days it really does feel like a dish rag that's been wrung out about 600 too many times, and continues to be used.

 

If you get up into the mountains and if you get down onto certain beaches it's really lovely, but if you're on the Ring Road it's just one of the ugliest sites one could possibly encounter while on vacation.

 

Much needs to be done to bring that island up to world class standards, I would say it might be in the top 200 islands, but nowhere near the top 10. 

[PoorSucker]

5 hours ago, khunPer said:

And that was how you got to Samui back in time, when some people claims that it was paradise...

The slow night boat from Suratthani town 11pm to 5am. done that.

[hotchilli]

On 4/10/2024 at 4:37 AM, webfact said:

On April 8th, 2024, Ms. Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, the Thai Tourism and Sports Minister, publicly revealed a Thai government policy to enhance Koh Samui to be one of the top 10 most attractive islands worldwide.

Another Maya beach in the making... unsustainable.

[Henryford]

21 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Lots of ferry options. ⛴️🏝️

 

I've done them. It's a real PITA to fly into ST, get a bus into town, maybe have to stay the night in ST, get a minivan to the ferry port, ferry, then a taxi to say Chaweng. Last time it took me a day and a half compared to a 50 minute BA flight.

[Tropicalevo]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

 

I've done them. It's a real PITA to fly into ST, get a bus into town, maybe have to stay the night in ST, get a minivan to the ferry port, ferry, then a taxi to say Chaweng. Last time it took me a day and a half compared to a 50 minute BA flight.

Overnight ferry from Bangkok?

 

https://www.facebook.com/fb.theseahorseferryofficial/

[Henryford]

24 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Overnight ferry from Bangkok?

 

https://www.facebook.com/fb.theseahorseferryofficial/

 

Just as expensive as BA, Basically you can't get to Samui and back for under 20,000 baht. That's more than the actual holiday costs. I can fly to Krabi or even rip off Phuket for 5,000.

[Tropicalevo]

How many people for a 20,000 baht ferry?

It's not 20,000 baht each.

From what I can see it is 2,500 baht each way.

[quake]

Thailand still thinking it's special. 

[PoorSucker]

11 hours ago, Henryford said:

get a bus into town

There is a bus service from SRT to Donsak pier

[Henryford]

21 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

How many people for a 20,000 baht ferry?

It's not 20,000 baht each.

From what I can see it is 2,500 baht each way.

 

Yes i was wrong it's not 20,000 it's 28,700. 2250 for the car plus the cheapest room 12,600 plus the return. BA by the way quoted me 21,200.

[Tropicalevo]

23 hours ago, Henryford said:

 

Just as expensive as BA, Basically you can't get to Samui and back for under 20,000 baht. That's more than the actual holiday costs. I can fly to Krabi or even rip off Phuket for 5,000.

 

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

 

Yes i was wrong it's not 20,000 it's 28,700. 2250 for the car plus the cheapest room 12,600 plus the return. BA by the way quoted me 21,200.

So you are comparing apples with chickens.

You are comparing the price of taking a car plus a room for the night with the price of a seat on a plane/train/bus.

A seat on the ferry is as cheap as your quoted prices on a plane but probably a little bit more expensive than a seat on the bus/train/van options