Thai Ranger Calls Out Italian Tourists for Damaging Coral Reefs

[Baba Naba]

19 minutes ago, PB172111 said:

Well that echos the actions of the guy in the video. Maybe typifying the Italians.

i hope there is an Italian moderator here 😎

I dont care what language they speak. Everyone should respect authority and then work it out. Not shooting your mouth off and disrepecting local LEOs like some spoiled brat. I applaud the Park Ranger in how he handled these rude tourists with self control.  This is why I would not be a good cop. I would have lost it with this entitled paisan. 

[Ctkong]

Thailand may be a bit ‘loose’ in enforcing laws and money can make your problems go away. However regardless , we are guests of the country whether long stay or tourists and respect each country’s  laws is universal . Denigrating the host country shows just the type of person you are. 

[Liverpool Lou]

10 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

he open border policy, allowing tourists to stay for such a long time is destroying Thailand.

Thailand does not have an "open border" policy.

[Liverpool Lou]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Thai tour was paid to take them snorkeling, and then they're told not to!

The OP doesn't report that, was it reported somewhere else?

[PB172111]

17 minutes ago, Baba Naba said:

I dont care what language they speak. Everyone should respect authority and then work it out. Not shooting your mouth off and disrepecting local LEOs like some spoiled brat. I applaud the Park Ranger in how he handled these rude tourists with self control.  This is why I would not be a good cop. I would have lost it with this entitled paisan. 

I agree

[Liverpool Lou]

4 hours ago, J Branche said:

Us long term residents officially apologize for these foreigners behavior.

No, we do not, you speak for yourself.  You are no official representative of anyone here.

[Liverpool Lou]

4 hours ago, J Branche said:

Maybe send the video to the respective Embassy so they understand why they need to relax visa requirements for Thai tourists.

What?  How does that make any sense?

[Liverpool Lou]

3 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Inexcusable behaviour by the loudmouth tourist. Questions should be asked, however, as to why the group, who wanted to dive, were apparently taken to a place where it is illegal to dive.

They were taken there by a third party?

[Liverpool Lou]

3 hours ago, Naamblar2014 said:

Isn't the coral on the sea floor? How is people bobbing around on the surface causing damage,  but the boat is not.

Do their snorkels and the reaction of the Rangers not suggest that maybe they were diving?

[Ben Zioner]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Sai criticized the tourists' behavior and their apparent belief that money excuses them from following rules, calling it an insult to Thai people.

This school of thought is gaining momentum...Worrying... Learn to cope with a few morons if you want the trillions...

 

But Thai racism has always been there.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, FolkGuitar said:

Years ago, before Koh Tao was so popular, and its neighboring island of Koh Nanuan had only a small noodle shop... no beach chairs, no noise, no crowds...

 

But in the bay on the west side of the island, in about 18m of water,  was a HUGE Barrel Sponge! It must have been 50-75 years old.  It was big enough for a diver to actually drop down completely inside without touching the walls of the sponge. Perhaps 2.5 meters tall and at least one meter inside, with red colored walls about 60cm thick, it was beautiful to see, and an oft-visited dive venue...

 

... until a Thai tour ship (which used to bring a few hundred Bangkok Thais down for a one-hour swim there every day,)  decided to drop its anchor right on top of the Barrel Sponge and completely destroy it.
Italian tourists are a problem?  Really?

Years ago.   Were unendangered barrel sponges protected all those decades ago; are they protected now?

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Frankie baby said:

I bet their was a little translation problem as well, Thai, Italian, mixed with some broken English, all 700m off shore. mixed in with all the confusion. I bet it sounded great?

One of the rangers, who seemed to be doing most of the talking spoke excellent English, and the Italian spoke reasonably good English with an excellent knowledge of English profanity.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Dcheech said:

nd if these were Chinese tourists, none of this would happen. The Park Ranger knows he can get a reaction with complaining about farang tourists.

Total, unsubstantiated cobblers.

[spidermike007]

Just another TAT sponsored delinquent tourist, when you invite in the lowest of the low, when you make visa requirements zero, you're going to get a lot of ignorant fools who misbehave.

 

That seems to be the nature of alot of Thai tourism in 2025. Quantity over quality never works unless you're selling $2 items at a swap meet. 

 

The Goombas just don't seem to understand that, and they don't seem to be willing to make the sacrifices required to attract more affluent tourists. 

 

Contrary to popular opinion within official circles, Thailand is not the center of the known universe. 

[Thingamabob]

44 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

They were taken there by a third party?

Yes. Read the article.

[Sydebolle]

Lost in translation, the ranger's command in (possibly) Italiano was inaccessible. Someone took those tourists there (assuming that they were not be parachuted into the area) and the old saying of "C'est le ton qui fait la musique" might apply as well. 

If the area was not clearly marked as "no access" then you just nailed another nail into the tourism coffin! 

[Liverpool Lou]

.

[smew]

 Educate Thai tour guides as they are taking tourists in their boats and they are in control where they go!!!

 

Thais guides to blame as they see foreigners money only that thy want to jump to their own pockets.  

[thecyclist]

The Thais have a long tradition of farang blaming, we brought prostitution, we brought Aids, we caused the once pristine land's  degradation into a den of iniquity.All because Farangs are ba(crazy) and ngo (stupid), How often have I heard Thais say that. The Thais have an exceptional lack of self reflection and self awareness, and a corresponding phenomenal capacity of passing the buck. 

Every nation have their myths.The reality :Thais are some of the greatest scofflaws on the planet. 

Now, under Donnieboy and his make America moronic again movement, the the US of A.... Is turning into the western Siam, just, as everything in America has to be bigger and better than anywhere else, even crazier and infinitely more stupid. 

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Sydebolle said:

If the area was not clearly marked as "no access" then you just nailed another nail into the tourism coffin! 

Gawd.   The Thai "tourism coffin" that does not exist...visitor numbers are increasing.

[Liverpool Lou]

16 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

The Thais have a long tradition of farang blaming, we brought prostitution, we brought Aids, we caused the once pristine land's  degradation into a den of iniquity.All because Farangs are ba(crazy) and ngo (stupid), How often have I heard Thais say that.

I'd bet that you have very rarely, if ever, actually heard any Thais say that.

[Chongalulu]

7 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

People look at all Muslims and see terrorists, but terrorists are just a tiny fraction of the whole population. The same with the Irish, as some think we're all drunks.

There's a significant minority of Muslims involved in or supporting terrorism,and that's all it takes because that's still a large number. Buddhist terrorists? Virtually none and that's the only acceptable number.

But I'm presuming you weren't drunk when you posted that...? 😜 

[BritScot]

13 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

The open border policy, allowing tourists to stay for such a long time is destroying Thailand.

 

You do not see these type of visitors in Dubai, Malaysia, China, etc Would this tourist been so open in his behaviour in Dubai or China? Not a chance. 

 

Ask yourself why they feel embolded to behave this way in Thailand ? Thailand is attracting low quality cheap thick tourists. 

Let me assure you, it is not cheap to travel to Thailand from the uk! For us (family of 4, 2 adults, 16 and 12 year old) just the cost of flights is about £4000 then over £6000 spending money and we have our own house in Thailand! We go for 3 to 4 weeks. 

[phetphet]

Well he said it was his last time in Thailand, so problem solved. 

[Kinok Farang]

My 4 year old grandson could have wrote this.

He never bothers with details such as,location,nationalities and other pointless information.

[Kinok Farang]

6 hours ago, Marco100 said:

I can't  see what the guy is doing wrong ? He is snorkeling on the surface . He hasn't  damaged  any coral ! Or did he ?

How did he get there eventually would be the quest ?

Because  boats definitely damage coral reef  areas more than someone snorkeling .

The usual new sport of Thais making video's of Tourists  to get some attention on the web . ( "this is crazy" , he's  making a point 😅 ) .

Wonder why you are supporting the actions of these Italians Marco?

[BangkokReady]

23 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

"Can you do anything you want if you have money? Foreign tourists look down on Thai people."

 

Look down on?  Isn't that the motto of Thailand?

[WDSmart]

Lock them up, fine them, and then deport them.

[DonniePeverley]

2 hours ago, BritScot said:

Let me assure you, it is not cheap to travel to Thailand from the uk! For us (family of 4, 2 adults, 16 and 12 year old) just the cost of flights is about £4000 then over £6000 spending money and we have our own house in Thailand! We go for 3 to 4 weeks. 

 

From India you can get a flight for around £70 one way to Bangkok. 

[thecyclist]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I'd bet that you have very rarely, if ever, actually heard any Thais say that.

You would lose that bet big time. I have heard it, and much much worse( farang kuay for example) , so many times. But a lot more in the past (30/40 years ago) than now, not, in my opinion, because Thais have a more favorable attitude towards farang now , but because 40/50  years ago, there weren't that many of us around. They are used to seeing us all over the country, it's nothing noteworthy anymore. Their xenophobia is still there, just more under the surface.