It's Finally In Print

[Maejo Man]

Shock over tourist murders

Government moving quickly to restore confidence in country's biggest business

By Post reporters 23/3/08

The government is rushing to shore up the confidence of tourists shaken by the latest killings of holidaymakers, which could affect the industry which generates the largest amount of foreign exchange in Thailand. Thailand's reputation as a safe destination for tourists suffered another setback with the March 15 murder of Swedish tourist Hannah Charlotte Bankluns, 27, who was stabbed to death while sunbathing in Phuket.

Yesterday an Indian tourist, Chetn Dadhwal, 24, was also stabbed to death as he tried to break up a fight during the Full Moon party on Rin beach at Koh Phangan in Surat Thani.

The murders come as a wake-up call for the authorities, who seem to show no concern about the shortage of investment in the tourism industry or the political will to improve the safety of tourists. The tourism industry continues to be the largest earner of foreign exchange and the biggest generator of jobs in Thailand.

Statistics released by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) put last year's revenue at about 500 billion baht. The agency projects this year's income to be 800 billion baht.

Tourism experts said people only travel to destinations that they feel safe in. Thailand owed much of its reputation as the region's tourist hub to its safety record.

The heavy competition in the tourism industry gives the government all the more reason to improve security for tourists. A tragic incident in one country could be a blessing for another country going after the same tourist segments, say the experts.

They warned of the hidden dangers of a surge in tourist arrivals as it could overstretch the country's resources and lead to less protection for visitors.

Tourist Police Division commander Choochat Suwannakom said there were not enough police to patrol the beaches, with the jump in numbers of foreign tourists from 12-14 million to 16-18 million annually over the past few years.

The division has been training volunteers recruited from local residents to offer security to tourists. But only 20% of the trainees actually went on to do the work, said Pol Maj-Gen Choochat.

''Local people know best where the dangers are,'' he said.

He added that despite a disappointing result, the volunteer programme would continue. Volunteers would be taught the basics of foreign languages to help them communicate with tourists.

Montri Naruekatapichai, president of the Phuket tourism association, said a number of local tourism businesses have chipped in and given provincial police a million baht a year to help boost police capabilities to provide visitors with safety from December to January when the numbers of tourists climb.

Mr Montri said visitors to Phuket were under-protected because the province needs more than the 1,000 police officers it now employs.

He said local tour companies contributed to the 100,000-baht bounty on the head of the Bankluns killer.

Suwalai Pinpradab, the director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's southern office, said the Bankluns murder has spurred those involved in the tourism business to collaborate efforts to boost the safety of tourists.

''The incident is an important lesson for us,'' she said.

The director said Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kohsurat has paid special attention to the murder case.

Mr Weerasak was in Phuket earlier this week to hand out whistles tourists

[Briggsy]

The Bangkok Post is still misspelling the surname of the Swedish victim. Great reporting, guys.

No mention anywhere in that report of Thailand's very high murder rate (not just tourists). I think that is what they need to get to grips with.

Finally the claim that Thailand does not have enough police is completely laughable. The police officer to population ratio is one of the highest in the world.

[thaigerd]

I went yesterday morning together with another TV member from Phuket to Hanna's memorial to Mai Khao beach.

Not a single official from local authorities came........

Gerd

[mellow1]

Throwing them out of balconies attracts less attention.

[kmart]

The Bangkok Post is still misspelling the surname of the Swedish victim. Great reporting, guys.

No mention anywhere in that report of Thailand's very high murder rate (not just tourists). I think that is what they need to get to grips with.

Finally the claim that Thailand does not have enough police is completely laughable. The police officer to population ratio is one of the highest in the world.

Cops are too busy extorting money or protecting illegal businesses to bother their <deleted> with tourists.

[kankaroo]

The Bangkok Post is still misspelling the surname of the Swedish victim. Great reporting, guys.

No mention anywhere in that report of Thailand's very high murder rate (not just tourists). I think that is what they need to get to grips with.

Finally the claim that Thailand does not have enough police is completely laughable. The police officer to population ratio is one of the highest in the world.

Agree, they need to spend less time chasing after minor drug dealers / users and more time on REAL crime.

[Thaising]

Every now and then, when there is foreign tourist being killed in Thailand, TAT always promise to put up more brochure to warn tourist and the police would said they will step up more petrol in tourist areas but murdered of foreigner here is still on the raise with police only give out lip service and assurance to foreign dollars to allay fears.

[Scott]

Part of the problem is that the country is deceptively peaceful and generally feels very safe. People seem friendly, but below these features there is an undercurrent of violence--as there is in a lot of country. I've been here long enough to have seen some very bad things happen to folks.

[Thaising]

Part of the problem is that the country is deceptively peaceful and generally feels very safe. People seem friendly, but below these features there is an undercurrent of violence--as there is in a lot of country. I've been here long enough to have seen some very bad things happen to folks.

Agreed, that’s why we don’t see the police provide info to the press on the exact figures on those Thai being murdered.

[mellow1]

Do they only give out whistles in Phuket?