Thailand Tourists Demand Measures To Tackle Illegal Tour Operators And Taxi Drivers

[webfact]

Tourists Demand Measures to Tackle Illegal Tour Operators & Taxi Drivers

The Tourism Department reveals the results of a survey of Thai tourism saying that problems of illegal tour operators and taxi drivers needs to be resolved quickly in order to improve the tourism industry.

According to a survey conducted by 5,000 local and foreign tourists around Bangkok, the Tourism Department Director-General, Surapol Sripan says the survey indicated that the problems that have most damaged the image of the Thai tourism industry are cheating by taxi and tuk tuk drivers as well as overcharging foreigners.

The tourists also mentioned that Thais could keep some places cleaner and improve their English skills.

According to the survey, the director-general added that some foreigners also wish to see a smile from immigration bureau officers, more public toilets at tourist attractions and hope that Thailand will maintain its traditional culture forever.

They also indicated a need for more promotion and understanding about Thai culture and lifestyle.

Regarding current problems that are being reported to the Tourism Bureau, Surapol says there are many illegal tour operators promoting tour packages on their websites.

Many tourists were unable to contact the operators after transferring money to them.

Surapol said that the bureau will resolve these problems as soon as possible.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-05

[Thailand]

That survey will come as a complete shock to many in Thailand.

[dumball]

'Thailand' timestamp='1304593675' post='4403218']

That survey will come as a complete shock to many in Thailand.

[/quote)

You are most likely correct there , and will fix it soon sounds somewhat similar to asking what time the bus leaves " 11 o'clock and a little bit " 555

[ginjag]

That survey will come as a complete shock to many in Thailand.

I am astounded that 2% of the tourist problems are now known by the department. An informant ought to tell them about the other 98%

[pogal]

According to the survey, the director-general added that some foreigners also wish to see a smile from immigration bureau officers, more public toilets at tourist attractions and hope that Thailand will maintain its traditional culture forever.

Aw! bit of a "CATCH 22" here...... Illegal tour operators and taxi drivers, scams, no toilets, no smiles, etc,.. ARE Thai culture! LOL

[Penkoprod]

"Demand" is rather a strong word to be using in the article, i would think

Especially in light of the fact that its in response to a survey

Penkoprod

[Chang_paarp]

As a taxi driver, I can assure you this sort of thing only happens in Thailand.

Never does an unsuspecting passenger get a scenic tour on the way to their hotel from Perth airport .

Nor do they get charged tolls for roads that do not have tolls (Perth does not have any toll roads)

[sirchai]

That survey will come as a complete shock to many in Thailand.

The tourists also mentioned that Thais could keep some places cleaner and improve their English skills.

Okay, keep some places cleaner and improving their English skills will fix all the problems, indeed. :jap:

[sirchai]

That survey will come as a complete shock to many in Thailand.

Surapol said that the bureau will resolve these problems as soon as possible.

Means maybe in 10 years..................:jap:

[rkidlad]

As a taxi driver, I can assure you this sort of thing only happens in Thailand.

Never does an unsuspecting passenger get a scenic tour on the way to their hotel from Perth airport .

Nor do they get charged tolls for roads that do not have tolls (Perth does not have any toll roads)

Very true. It can happen anywhere in the world. I was charged 40 US dollars for a 15 dollar ride because my taxi driver took the scenic route. Luckily, when the hotel receptionist asked how much we had paid, we had written down his number. (Advice we were given by the local tourist board ) She contacted the taxi company and we were reimbursed the full 40 dollars and received an apology.

Cheating taxi drivers all over the world. How many cheating taxi drivers in Thailand are held accountable for their actions?

[jocko]

It seems to me that there is that much wrong here and getting worse all the time it will never get fixed but i still love the place and i have been around a bit so c'est la vie in Thailand

[brommers]

In an industry that is made up of so many operators, & some fly by night ones, it is virtually impossible for authorities to keep up with the pace of 'innovation'. But even though I have lived here for years & was a tourist for decades before this it is still so tedious fending off the attempts to scam you. I was hosting someone in BKK just prior to Songkran & every day when we walked towards facilities like Wat Po & the Grand Palace we were pestered by tuk tuk drivers who told blatant lies that these facilities were closed. They were trying to get us to use them to visit retail outlets from which they would earn commission. Many unaware tourists will fall for this & end off being ripped off repeatedly. I was told by a friend that the Tourist Police will not take or cannot take action to stop this kind of practice because in the eyes of the law they have not actually committed a crime.

So as in all other countries tourists will have to be constantly wary if the travel independently and if they use an operator that they do not know. In Thailand too many visitors will interpret the wai as a sign of deference and will fall into these traps. Sad, but true.

Having said all this I cannot envisage living anywhere else right now.

[KwaTime]

Most casual visitors don't really know they're getting ripped off by tuktuks and are willing to pay cause it's still not that expensive. I don't see why people go to other countries and demand they speak English. However, illegal tour operators that outright just take your money and lack of restrooms are valid points that should require action.

[dumpling]

The issue of cleanliness should be pursued as it would not only improve things for tourist but also locals/nationals.

Lets hope that the right people listen and things improve.

[eezergood]

All of these points will require - Effort so thats an obvious stumbling block, Money - again see my first point and Willingness - so.........

[givenall]

That survey will come as a complete shock to many in Thailand.

Sorry i am laughing so hard that can’t really sayanything

[sbergin]

why should they learn english? this is Thailand for god's sake. How hard is it for a tourist to have the name of their hotel or wherever written down in thai for the taxi driver?

Edited May 5, 2011 by sbergin

[Somtamnication]

I offered to help a tourist couple who had those horrible Phuket tourist maps full of adverts. They were so confused and shaking their head. So I asked if I could help. To make a long story short, they asked me about such and such place and I reminded them to be aware of the 40% markup of items if a tuk tuk or taxi or van drives them there. To stop a block away and don´t allow the driver to follow them.

They gave me a shocked look. Like, they were completely unaware of the scams these folks pull. In this day of the information highway, that is unforgivable.

[kuffki]

Since when does Thailand care or started to care about what tourists want?

Did they ask the question about double pricing?

or how about not having any rights in case of accident?

[kuffki]

why should they learn english? this is Thailand for god's sake. How hard is it for a tourist to have the name of their hotel or wherever written down in thai for the taxi driver?

perhaps because they are dealing with tourists

Would you suggest all tourists should learn Thai?

[WhizBang]

  Means maybe in 10 years..................:jap:

You are being optomistic.  I think, more likely, it means NEVER.

[PoorSucker]

Cheating taxi drivers all over the world. How many cheating taxi drivers in Thailand are held accountable for their actions?

They all get accountable .

First offence the Phuket tuk-tuk medal class five.

Second time The Samui Taxi Order Class three.

etc

etc

etc.

Edited May 5, 2011 by PoorSucker

[pisico]

why should they learn english? this is Thailand for god's sake. How hard is it for a tourist to have the name of their hotel or wherever written down in thai for the taxi driver?

I think that ideology and principles cloud the reality of the situation. Reality, not ideology is what matters. Over simplifying the issue by reducing it to writing the name of a hotel on a piece of paper does not address in full the problem.

Thai is a very difficult tonal language rooted to a large degree in Sanskrit. The reason names and places comprise sometimes 60 or more characters. All of the characters have nothing to do with any other language, not even Khmer, which is the closest language on the planet. Any country in the world that wants to be competitive and attracts more tourists will promote English as a second language. This is the first time after the fall of the Roman Empire that the world has a common language to do business and exchange ideas and culture. Tourism is a business that enables visitors to experience a culture. If Thailand wants to continue enjoying a 10% of the GDP from tourism, it had better promote learning English by Thais. Otherwise they risk to gradually fall into the same isolationism that kept China backwards for many years: that is a distinct possibility. If Thais want their country to remain a popular destination in the world, English is a must have.

Edited May 5, 2011 by pisico

[robsamui]

Most casual visitors don't really know they're getting ripped off by tuktuks and are willing to pay cause it's still not that expensive. I don't see why people go to other countries and demand they speak English. However, illegal tour operators that outright just take your money and lack of restrooms are valid points that should require action.

You would be advised to actually read the report:

which stated (and I (paraphrase) that tourists interviewed observed that Thailand's tourism would be improved if the Thai nation had better English skills".

Nobody demanded that the Thais should speak English!

Which is a trusim and something that holds Thai people perpetually apart from the rest of the world.

R

[robsamui]

why should they learn english? this is Thailand for god's sake. How hard is it for a tourist to have the name of their hotel or wherever written down in thai for the taxi driver?

I think that ideology and principles cloud the reality of the situation. Reality, not ideology is what matters. Over simplifying the issue by reducing it to writing the name of a hotel on a piece of paper does not address in full the problem.

Thai is a very difficult tonal language rooted to a large degree in Sanskrit. The reason names and places comprise sometimes 60 or more characters. All of the characters have nothing to do with any other language, not even Khmer, which is the closest language on the planet. Any country in the world that wants to be competitive and attracts more tourists will promote English as a second language. This is the first time after the fall of the Roman Empire that the world has a common language to do business and exchange ideas and culture. Tourism is a business that enables visitors to experience a culture. If Thailand wants to continue enjoying a 10% of the GDP from tourism, it had better promote learning English by Thais. Otherwise they risk to gradually fall into the same isolationism that kept China backwards for many years: that is a distinct possibility. If Thais want their country to remain a popular destination in the world, English is a must have.

Well said!

I wonder for how much longer - for how many more generations - proud and outmoded Thai nationalism will keep their country ignorant? And then there's the problem of education in general. If you keep in mind that the majority of people born in England are unable to use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation then it's likely to be another 50 years before Thais are effectively and systematically taught English by competent school teachers.

R

Edited May 5, 2011 by robsamui

[Skywalker69]

That survey will come as a complete shock to many in Thailand.

Surapol said that the bureau will resolve these problems as soon as possible.

Means maybe in 10 years..................:jap:

If PT winnthe election I am sure khun Thaksin promise to fix it in six months just like he did(en´t) with the BKK traffic.

[Beetlejuice]

This is fantastic news.

Now this means I will never again as a farang be expected to pay more for stuff than the average Thai. Hip, pip, Hooray.

Also great news that the Thai Government is going to clamp down on the taxi and tour scammers. I suppose the little things such as: jetski scammers, duel pricing, tourists dropping dead wholesale unexplainably at the Chiang Mai, Downtown hotel are insignificant.

[pauljones]

Taxi Mafia, Sukhumvit Soi 6.

There are several hotels on my Soi and I see what is going on

Organized gangs of taxi scammers take possession of the areas in front of the hotels and prevent honest drivers from picking up fares.

These drivers pay the police a monthly fee to occupy this valuable turf.

Much like the vendors pay the police to take control of a piece of the footpath.

Here is the gang on Sukhumvit Soi 6.

3508593571_27c978f14d_z.jpg

This scenario is repeated if front of every tourist hotel.

We have written the newspaper, called police, for years but this same gang is still there preying on tourists.

The management and security at these hotels do nothing as their guests get approached by these punks.

Disgusting.

[moe666]

Only Thailand has rip off taxi drivers and tour operators?

[jonclark]

Only Thailand has rip off taxi drivers and tour operators?

Obviously not, but this forum is about Thailand.