Bad Publicity For Thailand

[NamKangMan]

A major Australian newspaper has led with a story in their travel section. The story is based on the deaths of several tourist who all stayed at the same hotel in Chiang Mai, however, the father of one of the deceased has now started a website which is aimed at exposing the risks, dangers, scams, rip offs, extortion etc etc in Thailand.

I have viewed the website have have not joined, as yet. I was interested in how many "hits" the website has had since it appeared in the news article but he has not put a "counter" on it.

The story can be viewed here:

http://www.smh.com.a...0426-1duee.html

The website can be viewed here:

http://www.thailandt...ltragedies.com/

The father is obviously, and understandably, still very angry. As we are coming into the high season for Australian and New Zealand tourists to Thailand (southern hemisphere winter) this could be damaging to tourism on Phuket.

To the mods - I know the news article is based on incidents that occured in Chiang Mai, however, most Aussie and Kiwi tourists come to Phuket for their holiday. Also, I am unsure if I am allowed to post the newspaper link, so, feel free to edit/move my post and/or topic.

Edited April 26, 2011 by NamKangMan

[Nawtier]

good to see...

[bkkmick]

Pretty sure that was reported here a few weeks ago.

[Valentine]

He is the father of a New Zealand girl which died in the hotel. The owners of the hotel in Chiang Mai are pretty well connected so don't expect any startling revelations from this side. A bit like the deaths on Phi Phi which seem to have been swept under the rug. The only one of note recently which had a successful conclusion was the case of Dale Henry murdered on the orders of his wife. She & a couple of others are now in jail only because of the tenacity of Dale's brother who kept pushing the case & made sure it did not conveniently go away.

I realise the hotel deaths are most likely caused by anything other than murder, though still a possibility, but just want to highlight how things operate here.

[chiliwasabi]

While I was alreay aware of the deaths via Thai Visa I have also seen the article on smh.com.au and had a look at the website that the father has put up (and we also tend to stay at the Downtown Inn Hotel when in Chiang Mai ).

It is a sad story and the families and greater community deserve answers but the website seems a bit misguided to me. Sure bad things can happen in Thailand but intelligent people tend to research countries before they travel to them and should know that Thailand may not be as developed as they are used to - I don't mean this in relation to the downtown deaths but rather the stories popping up on the Thailand Travel Tradgedies website. They seem to be on the large part baseless accusations and urban myths which do nothing but undermine the tradgedy that inspired the websites creation.

[BangTaoBoy]

These kind of websites, only serve as a platform for the relatives, to deal with their grief. If it helps them get through the hard times, then why not. It won't have any lasting affect on anything else, and will unfortunately be completely forgotten, long before the persons grief has even remotely waned.

[grumpyoldman]

For sure the Chaing Mai Downtown Inn deaths are a classic example of "Amazing Thailand".

6 people dead, no investigations, connected people pushing for cremations in a hurry.

What the hell, dead people can't post on Trip Advisor, right? No bad reviews there, "come stay at our 3 star Chiang Mai Downtown Inn our motto is, we hope you leave alive"!

[NamKangMan]

These kind of websites, only serve as a platform for the relatives, to deal with their grief. If it helps them get through the hard times, then why not. It won't have any lasting affect on anything else, and will unfortunately be completely forgotten, long before the persons grief has even remotely waned.

I disagree with you.

Have you seen the news over the last couple of months? Facebook, and other social network websites, have been attributed to starting the Arab Uprisings/Revolutions which resulted in the overthrow of Governements and regimes. If this website goes "viral" with the assistance of Facebook etc, it could cause a lot of damage to Thailand's tourism, not to mention The Downtown Inn would be finished.

Most on TV were aware of the deaths, as I was. The main reason of my post was to bring to light the father's website, which has now been advertised all over Australia in the newspaper. I am sure readers of that newspaper will inform their friends, and family, who they know are planning a trip to Thailand, of the websites existence. This website may effect their decision on where to holiday.

[trisailer]

I too feel sad for the familys loss. I also agree that the proper way to handle it is to keep pressure on the investigation into what happened. Some ways of doing that are better than others.

Creating bad publicty is not one of those ways. Thai's are not stupid they have no reason to want to take people lives, it is bad for business. I think where they are different is afterwards. Those people died, sadly and there is ample reason to try to learn why so that it can be corrected, but it won't bring them back. It is every bit as possible that they have already learned the reason, have corrected the problem and don't wish to dwell on it. Neglegence has a different, and somewhat flexable meaning here.

If the family is intent on punishing the hotel for being in Thailand that's not right. I recall a young man who died in Bumregrund in BKK a few years ago and the lawyer father wasn't satisfied with the result of the investigation and made a website bad mouthing the hospital. He sounded like a idiot.

[BangTaoBoy]

These kind of websites, only serve as a platform for the relatives, to deal with their grief. If it helps them get through the hard times, then why not. It won't have any lasting affect on anything else, and will unfortunately be completely forgotten, long before the persons grief has even remotely waned.

I disagree with you.

Have you seen the news over the last couple of months? Facebook, and other social network websites, have been attributed to starting the Arab Uprisings/Revolutions which resulted in the overthrow of Governements and regimes. If this website goes "viral" with the assistance of Facebook etc, it could cause a lot of damage to Thailand's tourism, not to mention The Downtown Inn would be finished.

Most on TV were aware of the deaths, as I was. The main reason of my post was to bring to light the father's website, which has now been advertised all over Australia in the newspaper. I am sure readers of that newspaper will inform their friends, and family, who they know are planning a trip to Thailand, of the websites existence. This website may effect their decision on where to holiday.

As for the hotel possibly being finished, I wouldn't disagree. If it isn't, then it certainly speaks volumes for the amount of research people do when planning a trip!

As for everything else. Come back and post again when tourism numbers have actually dropped, in the real, present day, world, and not when it is just a pointless prediction of the future.

I too feel sad for the familys loss. I also agree that the proper way to handle it is to keep pressure on the investigation into what happened. Some ways of doing that are better than others.

Creating bad publicty is not one of those ways. Thai's are not stupid they have no reason to want to take people lives, it is bad for business. I think where they are different is afterwards. Those people died, sadly and there is ample reason to try to learn why so that it can be corrected, but it won't bring them back. It is every bit as possible that they have already learned the reason, have corrected the problem and don't wish to dwell on it. Neglegence has a different, and somewhat flexable meaning here.

If the family is intent on punishing the hotel for being in Thailand that's not right. I recall a young man who died in Bumregrund in BKK a few years ago and the lawyer father wasn't satisfied with the result of the investigation and made a website bad mouthing the hospital. He sounded like a idiot.

Good post.

[NamKangMan]

These kind of websites, only serve as a platform for the relatives, to deal with their grief. If it helps them get through the hard times, then why not. It won't have any lasting affect on anything else, and will unfortunately be completely forgotten, long before the persons grief has even remotely waned.

I disagree with you.

Have you seen the news over the last couple of months? Facebook, and other social network websites, have been attributed to starting the Arab Uprisings/Revolutions which resulted in the overthrow of Governements and regimes. If this website goes "viral" with the assistance of Facebook etc, it could cause a lot of damage to Thailand's tourism, not to mention The Downtown Inn would be finished.

Most on TV were aware of the deaths, as I was. The main reason of my post was to bring to light the father's website, which has now been advertised all over Australia in the newspaper. I am sure readers of that newspaper will inform their friends, and family, who they know are planning a trip to Thailand, of the websites existence. This website may effect their decision on where to holiday.

As for the hotel possibly being finished, I wouldn't disagree. If it isn't, then it certainly speaks volumes for the amount of research people do when planning a trip!

As for everything else. Come back and post again when tourism numbers have actually dropped, in the real, present day, world, and not when it is just a pointless prediction of the future.

I too feel sad for the familys loss. I also agree that the proper way to handle it is to keep pressure on the investigation into what happened. Some ways of doing that are better than others.

Creating bad publicty is not one of those ways. Thai's are not stupid they have no reason to want to take people lives, it is bad for business. I think where they are different is afterwards. Those people died, sadly and there is ample reason to try to learn why so that it can be corrected, but it won't bring them back. It is every bit as possible that they have already learned the reason, have corrected the problem and don't wish to dwell on it. Neglegence has a different, and somewhat flexable meaning here.

If the family is intent on punishing the hotel for being in Thailand that's not right. I recall a young man who died in Bumregrund in BKK a few years ago and the lawyer father wasn't satisfied with the result of the investigation and made a website bad mouthing the hospital. He sounded like a idiot.

Good post.

Well, a clip on You Tube recently saw the arrest of three Thai teenage girls for dancing topless over Songkan. Such is the power of the interenet.

Anyway, like I said, IF, the website goes "viral" in Australia, it could have an impact, either large, or small, on Aussie tourist numbers.

[NamKangMan]

I too feel sad for the familys loss. I also agree that the proper way to handle it is to keep pressure on the investigation into what happened. Some ways of doing that are better than others.

Creating bad publicty is not one of those ways. Thai's are not stupid they have no reason to want to take people lives, it is bad for business. I think where they are different is afterwards. Those people died, sadly and there is ample reason to try to learn why so that it can be corrected, but it won't bring them back. It is every bit as possible that they have already learned the reason, have corrected the problem and don't wish to dwell on it. Neglegence has a different, and somewhat flexable meaning here.

If the family is intent on punishing the hotel for being in Thailand that's not right. I recall a young man who died in Bumregrund in BKK a few years ago and the lawyer father wasn't satisfied with the result of the investigation and made a website bad mouthing the hospital. He sounded like a idiot.

Well, we are all still waiting for the tuk-tuks, jet skis, roads, time share scam, airport taxi, traffic, drugs, crime etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc to be "corrected." Come to think of it, can you name anything that has been "corrected" to a satisfactory degree here? :) Do you mean "corrected" or "covered up."

Edited April 26, 2011 by NamKangMan

[Ulysses G.]

These kind of websites, only serve as a platform for the relatives, to deal with their grief.

There have been a number of these kind of websites attacking Thailand over the years, but they never amount to much as they do not allow anyone to tell the other side of the story.. They are mostly just places for hateful rants, rather than trying to help anybody.

[BangTaoBoy]

Well, we are all still waitingfor the tuk-tuks, jet skis, roads, time share scam, airport taxi, traffic, drugs, crime etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc to be "corrected." Come to think of it, can you name anything that has been "corrected" to a satisfactory degree here? :) Do you mean "corrected" or "covered up."

Not strictly true! Not all of us. Some of us aren't waiting for anything. I personally am not in the slightes bit perturbed, about one single thing on that list.

If there was anything I was waiting for, it would probably be the time when people aren't waiting any more. But I think that's gonna be a long wait, so I don't think I'll bother.

[Scabo]

I really feel for this family's lose. I can fully understand the

frustration they have with their dealing's with the authoritys,

having been through something similar several yrs back.

But money talks. I know this type of story has not stopped

and will not stop my fellow country men/woman coming back over here.

[seriouseats]

Anyway, like I said, IF, the website goes "viral" in Australia, it could have an impact, either large, or small, on Aussie tourist numbers.

It wont.

the colors are not attention grabbing

Even with 1 page links, its hard to see any real sensationalism to make you want to keep reading beyond the front page.

The picture layout makes it look like a family vaction album.

Design is cheap by 1999's standards

[trisailer]

...and yet they keep comming.

[NamKangMan]

...and yet they keep comming.

But, are they coming back?????????

[NamKangMan]

Well, we are all still waitingfor the tuk-tuks, jet skis, roads, time share scam, airport taxi, traffic, drugs, crime etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc to be "corrected." Come to think of it, can you name anything that has been "corrected" to a satisfactory degree here? :) Do you mean "corrected" or "covered up."

Not strictly true! Not all of us. Some of us aren't waiting for anything. I personally am not in the slightes bit perturbed, about one single thing on that list.

If there was anything I was waiting for, it would probably be the time when people aren't waiting any more. But I think that's gonna be a long wait, so I don't think I'll bother.

I'm not holding out for any change here, anytime soon, however, wouldn't life be more relaxing here if the mentioned issued were properly addressed?

[trisailer]

But, are they coming back?????????

Apparently so and their still renting jet skis, otherwise the problem goes away.

[BangTaoBoy]

wouldn't life be more relaxing here if the mentioned issued were properly addressed?

I'm sure it would for some people. But then some people would probably like their bottoms wiped for them as well. Life can be as relaxing in Phuket as anyone cares to make it. Anyone with an ounce of common sense that is, which I guess is where the problem lies.

If the time comes when someone is putting a gun to your head, and making you get on a jetski, or in a tuk tuk, I will agree that Phuket has problems. Until then, they remain completely self inflicted.

[stevenl]

...and yet they keep comming.

But, are they coming back?????????

Why do you keep insinuating these things, when the numbers clearly say otherwise?

No need for an answer btw.

[barka]

wouldn't life be more relaxing here if the mentioned issued were properly addressed?

I'm sure it would for some people. But then some people would probably like their bottoms wiped for them as well. Life can be as relaxing in Phuket as anyone cares to make it. Anyone with an ounce of common sense that is, which I guess is where the problem lies.

If the time comes when someone is putting a gun to your head, and making you get on a jetski, or in a tuk tuk, I will agree that Phuket has problems. Until then, they remain completely self inflicted.

you are 100% corect..the main problems are....COMMEN SENSE..and all are mostly.. SELF INFLICTED...

Phuket is what you make it ..PARADISE OR HELL......YOU CHOOSE...

[madmitch]

There are thousands of comments on the internet complaining about Thailand and Phuket in particular but it must be remembered that the vast majority of tourists have a great time, hence so many repeat visitors and those visiting after recommendations by satisfied tourists.

The Downtown Inn incident is something different and should have been much more thoroughly investigated. I am very surprised that nobody has posted anything about these incidents on Tripadvisor as it's an open forum and you do not need to be invited to leave a comment. It's also exceptionally widely read.

No, I won't do it myself but someone affected by the tragedy should.

NB The story also made the UK's Daily Telegraph a week or so ago.

Edited April 27, 2011 by madmitch

[NamKangMan]

...and yet they keep comming.

But, are they coming back?????????

Why do you keep insinuating these things, when the numbers clearly say otherwise?

No need for an answer btw.

I'm not insinuating anything? I'm asking a question. Where do you get your stats from, TAT? :) Those aren't worth a pinch of sh*t. I agree tourists are coming to Phuket, but it's a new market. The Russians, Arabs, Chinese, Koreans. However, the Aussies don't seem to be coming over at the rate they used to. I get my stats from people I meet who have just flown in. I ask, "Was the plane full?" I've had a lot of responses like how they were able to sleep along three seats because they weren't taken. Sure, people are still coming here, I'm just questioning how many are going to be repeat visitors.

Edited April 27, 2011 by NamKangMan

[trisailer]

I grew up in a popular coastal town in Maine and so I can relate to the tourism thing.

A couple of years, at the end of the tourist season I stood with a couple of hundred native Mainer's holding a banner from a overpass bridge that said "Thanks for comming and spending your money, thanks for leaving, see you next season"

Unfortunatly many started staying and now I don't recognize the place. Native Mainer's are currently suffering in so many ways because of the "flatlanders" who have turned the place into something unrecognizable. Anthropologist have well documented the negative results of outside influence on countries who are trying to develope at their own pace. All cultures advance, the problems come when it happens to fast and for the wrong reasons.

[NamKangMan]

wouldn't life be more relaxing here if the mentioned issued were properly addressed?

I'm sure it would for some people. But then some people would probably like their bottoms wiped for them as well. Life can be as relaxing in Phuket as anyone cares to make it. Anyone with an ounce of common sense that is, which I guess is where the problem lies.

If the time comes when someone is putting a gun to your head, and making you get on a jetski, or in a tuk tuk, I will agree that Phuket has problems. Until then, they remain completely self inflicted.

I don't need my ass wiped. I don't need any luxury to live and have a good time. A recent article in the PG had officials actually admitting there were problems here, but, as we all know, nothing will change.

You talk about common sense - where's the common sense in a "Welcome to Phuket" sign which costs millions of baht whilst the road behind Junceylon is a mine field of potholes? So, I swerve and weave the potholes with a smile on my face and remember that I am still in a third world country that has a great "Welcome" sign. Where's the sense it that???? :) But, if one of those potholes causes an accident, you say it's self inflicted. :)

[NamKangMan]

I grew up in a popular coastal town in Maine and so I can relate to the tourism thing.

A couple of years, at the end of the tourist season I stood with a couple of hundred native Mainer's holding a banner from a overpass bridge that said "Thanks for comming and spending your money, thanks for leaving, see you next season"

Unfortunatly many started staying and now I don't recognize the place. Native Mainer's are currently suffering in so many ways because of the "flatlanders" who have turned the place into something unrecognizable. Anthropologist have well documented the negative results of outside influence on countries who are trying to develope at their own pace. All cultures advance, the problems come when it happens to fast and for the wrong reasons.

Well, it's been that way for for 60 years. The Vietnam War kicked Thailand off. You would think they would be up to speed by now. :) Funny how the wealthy south is, but the poor north isn't, but then again, the rich Thai's need their cheap labour from somewhere and the foreigners don't mind the bargirls etc.

Edited April 27, 2011 by NamKangMan

[NamKangMan]

...and yet they keep comming.

Funny how some of them can't actually get in. Eg. US navy boat and tourist cruise ship blockaded by tuk-tuks. :) :)

[barka]

whatever we sa,y whatever we do, we are FARANGS...the Thais of PHUKET will do what they want not what we want,we have opinions thats all they are ..BUT..we have a choice,STAY or LEAVE.......please dont give me excuses...this is our CHOICE