Pattaya beginning to earn bad reputation with Russian tourists

PATTAYA:--Russian Federation Consul Andrey Dvornikov told police and city officials that, due to increasing crime against tourists, Pattaya is gaining a growing reputation back home for being unsafe.

At a Nov. 19 meeting between Thai and Russian officials and tour operators, the embassy counselor cited the increasing frequency of gold and handbag snatches and hotel burglaries, saying crimes are being reported in Russia with many travelers forming negative impressions of safety in Pattaya.

Dvornikov blamed the increase in crime to the termination of joint Pattaya Police-Royal Thai Navy patrols earlier this decade. Ended due to budget constraints, the Military-Police Cooperative Patrol Project was supposed to be restarted in May 2009 following a mandate from then-Gov. Senee Jittakasem. But despite calling the program “essential” for tourism, the plan was sent to a committee for study, never to reemerge.

The Russian consul also was critical of Thai officials for the common practice of hotels taking tourists passports. He said passports were property of the Russian government and that Thai officials showed “negligence” in instructing hotels to demand and hold them.

Full story:http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/pattaya-beginning-to-earn-bad-reputation-with-russian-tourists-18715

[pattayamail][/pattayamail]

Finally one who dares to show his teeth.When the other brown nosed Embassies gone follow his example?

Surprise Surprise........who didn't see that coming.........

Andrey also doesn't like dual pricing in hospitals and the jet ski scams.

Well done Andrey.

(Can we have him for British Consul too)

Investigate from where the crime comming , in many opinions the crime comming from the Russia Maffia and Russia money laundering here in Pattaya. A good income to City Hall.

Doesn't take long does it.

Glad to see some balls from a foreign nation trying to protect its nationals.

I think vice versa as well, and many Thais can't tell the difference between Russians and other foreigners so we all suffer from their bad behavior.

Taking peoples passports? I am sorry but this bit I don't understand? When did this become routine in Pattaya? That is just wrong.

The Embassy official is bang on. Nice to see a Country grow a pair and man up.

Who is next? Australia maybe, one of the Scandnavian's??

There is a bit of the scam the insurance company and get a free holiday going on too from the ones who claim their gold was stolen, but never had any in the first place.

Taking peoples passports? I am sorry but this bit I don't understand? When did this become routine in Pattaya?

I wonder if it's because many may be on package tours. They come in on charter jet, get transferred to the hotel and the rep hands the passports to the hotel - don't know, just wondering. Early this year on an open day at U Tapao airport I saw 3 or 4 planes on the apron in red livery sporting the name 'Nordwind' which is a Russian charter company. If there are that number parked up at any one time I would guess that a large number of the Russians in Pattaya have come in through there.

Most of the Russian tourists are "naive" tourists; often the first trip abroad. I am not surprised the truth about the problems in Pattaya are getting out and I reckon over time many of those target naive tourists will be moving on to beach destinations with better security, perhaps Vietnam? A great opportunity for competitors. The other day I was wondering what countries are set to replace the naive waves from Russia. Of course Chinese will come but so far mostly a bus tour scene for them.

I see this as paying lip-service to his countrymen just as any response is paying lip-service to fellow officials. Nothing new here.

Not sure either party has really studied the issues related to numbers of Russian residents and tourists and the antics they get up to as well as their potential vulnerability.

WoW, it must be bad down there for the drunken tourists.

It may be lip service but who wants to take their families to a place with super high crime? The reputation, lets face it, is DESERVED and Pattaya had best get its act together. But they probably won't, there has always been a new vein of naive golden tourists who replace the lost ones. So far.

Taking peoples passports? I am sorry but this bit I don't understand? When did this become routine in Pattaya?

I wonder if it's because many may be on package tours. They come in on charter jet, get transferred to the hotel and the rep hands the passports to the hotel - don't know, just wondering. Early this year on an open day at U Tapao airport I saw 3 or 4 planes on the apron in red livery sporting the name 'Nordwind' which is a Russian charter company. If there are that number parked up at any one time I would guess that a large number of the Russians in Pattaya have come in through there.

Maybe as many are on group tours or have a reputation for skipping out in bills, they can't check out without getting their passports before settling their bill. There have been a couple of cases of group tour companies going g broke and leaving the local hotel high and dry.

As to general practice of keepi g a guest's passport, its never happened to me anywhere in the world, including Thailand...maybe a benefit of a Western passport.

Beginning Is That a JOKE I thougt it was the other way around

Everything is relative. London has more muggings and car thefts. LA has more murders. Sydney has more assaults. Manila has more drug addicts. Moscow has more drunks. Yes, they are all larger than Pattaya but per capita statistics would be interesting to know.

Screw the Russian business segment too; then do the same with the mainland Chinese and Southasian visitors = NO BUSINESS ANYMORE.

Somehow nobody in this town realized, that Thais have changed the wealthy and money-spending Western European against the present rubberneck tourist groups.

The six-star Royal Cliff Beach, an icon on the Southeast Asian map in line with the Raffles Singapore, Railway Hotel Hua Hin, the Strand in Rangoon and the Oriental in Bangkok ........ downgraded itself to a cheap sleep bunker; the revenues must be considerably lower than ten years ago.

Are the Russian tourists being advised that they may be hit over the head with a bottle by other Russians?

Are the Russian tourists being advised that they may be hit over the head with a bottle by other Russians?

Or SAS trained.

How can Thai authorities instruct hotels to keep passports if it's a legal requirement for foreigners to carry them at all times. Is this actually true, or has it been mis-reported. If it's true, can the tourists be fined for not having their passports on them?

Screw the Russian business segment too; then do the same with the mainland Chinese and Southasian visitors = NO BUSINESS ANYMORE.

Somehow nobody in this town realized, that Thais have changed the wealthy and money-spending Western European against the present rubberneck tourist groups.

The six-star Royal Cliff Beach, an icon on the Southeast Asian map in line with the Raffles Singapore, Railway Hotel Hua Hin, the Strand in Rangoon and the Oriental in Bangkok ........ downgraded itself to a cheap sleep bunker; the revenues must be considerably lower than ten years ago.

A number of us recognized that Pattaya was being transformed in to a package tourist destination, but we were not taken seriously. I moved to North Naklua-fore warned is fore armed.

That's moving out to the hinterlands :-)

Time to print Chinese menus.

Good work by the Russian Consul. Setting an example to all the other worthless ambassadors and consuls who should be doing the same for their people. I don't rate his chances of ever getting Thais to learn Russian though.

Russians complaining about crime in pattaya !!thats a good one!!

Chickens coming home to roost is my take on this

And it will only get worse since these new Russian tourists refuse to accept how things are done here. You must be demanding and bellicose to get anything in the Russian Federation and that does not translate well here in Thailand

The Russian authorities would be better off launching an advertising campaign to educate the tourists instead of thinking that the Thais are going to do it for them

So how many russians are complaining, 1000,s , 100,s 10,s?????

Pattaya IS safer than many parts of the world,and a dam_n sight safer than many towns/cities in the uk,who would want an holiday in Glasgow

So how many russians are complaining, 1000,s , 100,s 10,s?????

Pattaya IS safer than many parts of the world,and a dam_n sight safer than many towns/cities in the uk,who would want an holiday in Glasgow

All my friends Stateside have had their cars broken into multiple times...owned two cars for over 10 years in Pattaya and narry a problem. Same for all my friends. Also, have never felt unsafe at any time or place in 15 years of living in Thailand. Thailand has problems, but IMHO, random violent crime (ala Brazil) is not one of them.

Unlike some nationalities, most western farang already know about Pattaya's notorious reputation. We don't walk with our kids down Soi 6 or take our fully veiled Muslim wives to Walking Street(yes, I've seen it!) . They should research their choice of destinations beforehand. Is there a Google in Russia? Guess not.