Business Bad For Beach Masseuses

[george]

Business bad for beach masseuses

Hotels, govt drawing their clients away

PHUKET: The government's campaign to promote traditional massage and spa services is making life tougher for beach masseuses.

Their daily earnings have dropped sharply from five years ago when they could made 1,200-1,500 baht a day.

Kanya Patkor, a traditional massage provider at Karon beach in Phuket, has been in the business for 10 years, long enough to know the ``down-cycle'' has arrived.

Her office comprises a shack supported by four poles, two mattresses and a signboard bearing the message ``Thai Massage''.

A native of Nakhon Si Thammarat, she is one of 150 masseuses at the beach who have registered with the tambon Karon municipality and pay an annual fee of 520 baht. They have to take a recognised training course and must carry professional identity cards.

Most of Mrs Kanya's customers are foreign tourists who are charged a standard fee of 300 baht an hour. They buy her soft drinks and snacks from nearby stalls and sometimes even take her to shopping.

``I keep in touch with many of them. Some return to Phuket every year and come here for massage,'' she said.

When hotels and resorts started offering the same service for their guests, fewer customers came.

``Those hotels charge only 200 baht. And they seem to have it all _ massage, spa, aromatherapy. Why would they bother to come here?'' she said.

Some hotel masseuses were not trained. They stole her customers and gave the business a bad reputation.

``Some tourists come to us with a sprained back. It scares them off,'' she said.

Mrs Kanya also braids hair for 300 baht. Other masseuses provide manicures and fingernail painting.

``We do everything we can,'' she said.

Pongsri Khongkao, 38, another veteran masseuse, said beach-massage was already a competitive business without hotels' offering the service as well.

``A few years ago when business was still good I earned 1,500 baht a day. Right now, if I can get 500 baht a day, it's a miracle,'' she said. And beach massage is not available all year-round.

The best time is from November to April when the sky is clear and sea warm.

Yaowalak Chotika, spa supervisor at Kata Thani Hotel's Tiewson Spa, denied spa masseuses were untrained. All 10 massage providers at her place were trained and required to pass a test, she said.

``Price-cutting is a problem for beach masseuses, not us,'' she said.

Sitthichate Atchariyachai, spa operator, said fixed, standard prices make his service more attractive to tourists. ``We are different from beach masseuses who have no fixed prices, and where the service depends largely on demand and weather conditions,'' he said.

Anuparp Thirarath, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in charge of Phuket and other neighbouring southern provinces, said beach masseuses have to offer other services to stay competitive.

--The Post 2003-12-28