Foreign Tourists Safety 'priority' For New Tourism Minister Somsak

[Halion]

Surely the prime objective of any government is to make Thailand safe for all and not simply safe zones for tourists.

A government in total denial.

[HeavyDrinker]

Blimey! So many 'experts' coming out if the woodwork! I can hear the barstools wobbling in disgust...

Give the fella a chance at least.

At least he seems to know there ARE problems which need to be addressed...

That alone for me, is a good start....

I guess, by your attitude, that everyone criticizing these things sitting drunk in a bar, that are here for quiet a while.

How many times, did you hear things, similar to this, gave it a "fair chance" and in the end were dissapointed?

Let me guess: 99%?

Smile- things might be worse!

So I smiled...and things got worse!

No Doc,I'm having a pop at people who whine endlessly about such things as 'jetski scams' etc, and then when we actually see a positive move by the powers, they still whine like pigs...

[johnlandy]

He hasn't made a very good start has he?

More farang deaths on the roads, boat accidents etc.

Thailand has got a hell of a long way to go before it can be considered a safe destination.

[monkeycountry]

What Mr. Somsak Pureesrisak said: I will promote tourism safety

What Mr. Somsak Pureesrisak was thinking when he said the above: I wonder how big my share of the 2 trillion baht infrastructure loan will be?

[laobali]

I depserately hope something significant comes out of this.

Just look at the Korean tourists having the boat accident yesterday.

But I won't hold my breath....

Only to stop yourself drowning.

[monkeycountry]

Blimey! So many 'experts' coming out if the woodwork! I can hear the barstools wobbling in disgust...

Give the fella a chance at least.

At least he seems to know there ARE problems which need to be addressed...

That alone for me, is a good start....

I guess, by your attitude, that everyone criticizing these things sitting drunk in a bar, that are here for quiet a while.

How many times, did you hear things, similar to this, gave it a "fair chance" and in the end were dissapointed?

Let me guess: 99%?

Smile- things might be worse!

So I smiled...and things got worse!

No Doc,I'm having a pop at people who whine endlessly about such things as 'jetski scams' etc, and then when we actually see a positive move by the powers, they still whine like pigs...

"and then when we actually see a positive move by the powers"

Are you referring to any specific positive moves by the powers? I do recall alot of positive talk over the years, especially from newly appointed officials, but no actual positive moves.

[FarangTalk]

Blimey! So many 'experts' coming out if the woodwork! I can hear the barstools wobbling in disgust...

Give the fella a chance at least.

At least he seems to know there ARE problems which need to be addressed...

That alone for me, is a good start....

I guess, by your attitude, that everyone criticizing these things sitting drunk in a bar, that are here for quiet a while.

How many times, did you hear things, similar to this, gave it a "fair chance" and in the end were dissapointed?

Let me guess: 99%?

Smile- things might be worse!

So I smiled...and things got worse!

No Doc,I'm having a pop at people who whine endlessly about such things as 'jetski scams' etc, and then when we actually see a positive move by the powers, they still whine like pigs...

So you whine about the whiners?

[Songhua]

Plenty of talk but the only plan of action mentioned in the article is 'increase penalties for those committing crimes'. OK, a deterrent it may be, but what are the preventative measures?

[monkeycountry]

Blimey! So many 'experts' coming out if the woodwork! I can hear the barstools wobbling in disgust...

Give the fella a chance at least.

At least he seems to know there ARE problems which need to be addressed...

That alone for me, is a good start....

Notice that "the fella" is simply mentioning that Thailand should do as japan. Well, what is that then? My guess is he has no clue what Japan is doing, and that he will never bother to find out either.

The problem with the nice approach of giving everyone a chance to prove themselves is that it takes too long time. And when the time comes for evaluation of his performance, he will be promoted to somewhere else, where he gets another few years to talk alot but do nothing.

There are plenty of improvements that could be implemented in a week, if someone was sincere about fixing the problems. Why not demand immediate results from all new officials, and if they fail to perform, ask them to step down, so no more time is wasted?

[HeavyDrinker]

Were there nothing being done, you'd all be whining. Now someone is given a job to do and is talking about positive action, you're all still whining.

Go have a think about it....really...

[monkeycountry]

Blimey! So many 'experts' coming out if the woodwork! I can hear the barstools wobbling in disgust...

Give the fella a chance at least.

At least he seems to know there ARE problems which need to be addressed...

That alone for me, is a good start....

Notice that "the fella" is simply mentioning that Thailand should do as japan. Well, what is that then? My guess is he has no clue what Japan is doing, and that he will never bother to find out either.

The problem with the nice approach of giving everyone a chance to prove themselves is that it takes too long time. And when the time comes for evaluation of his performance, he will be promoted to somewhere else, where he gets another few years to talk alot but do nothing.

There are plenty of improvements that could be implemented in a week, if someone was sincere about fixing the problems. Why not demand immediate results from all new officials, and if they fail to perform, ask them to step down, so no more time is wasted?

Notice also in the real world (large private companies) newly appointed CEO's are appointed because they have already proven themselves in their previous job - and have relevant qualifications. They are not appointed randomly and then given a chance, as that could, and probably would, end up very costly.

[Judo Chop]

Give the guy a bloody chance. Come back and slay him all you like if nothings changed in 6-12 months but he deserves a fair go and the opportunity to back up his words.

[DocN]

Were there nothing being done, you'd all be whining. Now someone is given a job to do and is talking about positive action, you're all still whining.

Go have a think about it....really...

As well as your point is taken...I just do not have much ...if any...hope, that anything will really change!

I don't call it whining...I call it "realism"!

[HeavyDrinker]

Give the guy a bloody chance. Come back and slay him all you like if nothings changed in 6-12 months but he deserves a fair go and the opportunity to back up his words.

That's far too logical/sensible.

You can't let the Thai Visa membership lose a chance to let their 'wisdom' and 'political awareness' of how 'Thailand works' pass by....

[monkeycountry]

Were there nothing being done, you'd all be whining. Now someone is given a job to do and is talking about positive action, you're all still whining.

Go have a think about it....really...

Ask yourself this. Why did he not come up with an specific problem, an actual solution and a timeframe? We have to assume of course, given his new title, he knows alot about the specific tourism related problems and has actual solutions. Otherwise why would anyone give him the job in the first place?

Imagine if a new CEO of Apple in his initial speech said "Well, I think we should just do as Samsung, it seems to work for them!"

Edited April 23, 2013 by monkeycountry

[monkeycountry]

Give the guy a bloody chance. Come back and slay him all you like if nothings changed in 6-12 months but he deserves a fair go and the opportunity to back up his words.

That's far too logical/sensible.

You can't let the Thai Visa membership lose a chance to let their 'wisdom' and 'political awareness' of how 'Thailand works' pass by....

The "give the guy a chance and come back in 12 months" approach has been tried 100 times already, and the result so far is always the same - nothing changes except the guys wealth.

Would one not be an idiot to keep using that approach?

[HeavyDrinker]

The "give the guy a chance and come back in 12 months" approach has been tried 100 times already

Would you care to give an example or 100?

I see where you are coming from. I really do; however, were the government to do nothing, you'd all be in a fury...

At least - even though it may be persiflage - there is something being done, means that they are at least aware of the 'ploblem'...?

[Travel2003]

Safety 'priority' for new tourism minister Somsak

[JeffreyWitty]

After reading this headline - I wondered if this article was written by CAPTAIN OBVIOUS ?

[hawker9000]

Net net, after years & years of trips to Thailand, generally minding my Ps & Qs, with never one incident or even a ripoff, I really wonder if the safety record for foreigners in Thailand is any worse than, say, NYC or LA or London or Paris or Rome or Rio... PARTICULARLY among foreigners NOT involved in scams & other illegitimate enterprise, NOT prone to drunken brawling, NOT prone to involvement in political demonstrations & activities, WITH an awareness of the situation in the south, WITH a decent sense of being a guest, and WITH a fair share of plain COMMON sense... And if you also subtract those that have done their homework before coming and actually are forewarned about those things that DO happen (driving hazards, gem scam, wat-closed scam, etc. etc etc....), well then, like I said, net net, how unsafe is it really? I'm not saying bad things don't happen; they certainly do. Including some really bad things. But you just can't point your finger at some foreigners getting killed in a bus overturn or boating accident, or cheated in a real estate transaction, or laid up with dengue, and say that puts Thailand and the bottom of the global list. Planes crash, boats sink, cars wreck, hotels & clubs catch fire, bombs go off, people are scammed, beaten up, robbed & murdered, foreigners are mistreated by legal systems, just about everywhere in the world. Across the board, is Thailand's RATE as dramatically worse as people's comments would lead you to believe? Sure, there's room for improvement. No, you're probably not going to see much in the short term. Yes, there's plenty to criticize. But be realistic in assessing your risks in Thailand vs other tourist destinations.

Edited April 23, 2013 by hawker9000

[rct99q]

I worked in the Travel Industry in Canada for over a decade and still have friends and former colleagues working in the business who I still keep in contact with. Now this is not meant to be 20 year study with concrete results being published.

But my friends and colleagues that are booking travel packages (from several Western Canadian cities) say most of their clients do not have any knowledge of or more importantly it would seem really don't care about the issues that keep coming up on this and MANY other forums. Do bad things happen to people yes...but as far as it being labelled a dangerous destination....not in the eyes of most of these travelers.

In the past we dealt with the problems in Mexico (time share scams, para-sailing scams, drug issues, corrupt police), South America (drug cartels, shining path etc). Jamaica (jet ski scams, time share scams, robberies, rapes), Cuba (sex tourists) and the list goes on.....

With all of this Tourists still kept going and will keep coming.

[Travel2003]

Give the guy a bloody chance. Come back and slay him all you like if nothings changed in 6-12 months but he deserves a fair go and the opportunity to back up his words.

I would be very happy to bow my head and say,

"I was very wrong to doubt you, and I am happy to see I was wrong, because you did an excellent job".

But for the moment, I seriously doubt it would be much noticeable changes.

[Fortunate]

He can start here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/634682-polluted-water-plagues-phuket-beach/?utm_source=newsletter-20130423-1702&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

Then he can go on and see if he can protect the tourists from the airport-to-hotel transportation rip-off scams in Phuket too. Let’s see if he can setup a civilized public bus transportation system to the different destinations there without the bus driver getting mugged, killed or his bus destroyed by criminal syndicates.

Next would be to permit hotels there that want to provide shuttle busses for their guests to do so without management, staff, driver and passengers being threatened, mugged or killed and the busses destroyed. Gooooood luck to you Mr. Minister. Have a nice day.

[salapau]

Intitially get the police to do their jobs instead of turning blind eyes to everything that goes on.

Check motorbikes and cars tax documents, out of date documents lead to no insurance or drivers licences. Stop children riding motorbikes and driving cars who are obviously under age. I've seen so many. Toughen up the tests needed to obtain a licence so many have no idea. Random stop riders and drivers for drink driving, thereby reducing accidents.

Concentrate on finding the drug users, from them establish the networks and close them down.

Penalise the " slash and burn " farmers properly and stop the smog created by their fires, commonly stupidly referred to as " dust particles. "

Additionally change the attitude of Thai people to " Farangs, " we are not just an easy route to profiteering.

Also show compassion and acceptance to the tourists who are a valuable commodity to the growth of Thailand.

[espinoza]

Waaaoow. Give the guy 6 months, than a new one appears.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[monkeycountry]

The "give the guy a chance and come back in 12 months" approach has been tried 100 times already

Would you care to give an example or 100?

I see where you are coming from. I really do; however, were the government to do nothing, you'd all be in a fury...

At least - even though it may be persiflage - there is something being done, means that they are at least aware of the 'ploblem'...?

Please tell me you remember various ministers promising to eradicate corruption (Chalerm), traffic jams (not sure who), floods (may have been Yingluck), poverty (Thaksin) etc. in 6 months. I am sure google will give many more examples that I have currently forgotten.

I agree of course that everyone is aware there is a problem, incl. the officials. I do not think they care though as more often than not, they benefit financially from the same problems, or at least the problems do not affect them.

In order to put some pressure on the officials, why not ask them to come up with a list of problems they can fix quickly so they can prove themselves this month instead of in 12 months? This way they also have a chance to step down and let someone else try next month, in case they fail. Afterall I assume they are working for the public interest, so if they fail to meet their own targets they will resign on their own.

Reg. your comment that IF the government did nothing we would all be in a fury, I hope you understand that we are many who believe the government IS doing nothing, which would warrant the mentioned fury!

If you hired a guy to fix your aircon but he kept saying he would come tomorrow you would eventually fire him. If the next guy did the same you would fire him too, most likely a bit faster than the last guy. After having tried several aircon repair guys who all told you they would fix it tomorrow, you would and should change your approach to the problem. Not just keep saying. "Lets see if this next random guy will show up within the next 12 months".

[Chrisswe]

For sure not an easy task to dealing with uneducated "Nuts"

[Pattaya28]

Foreign Tourists Safety 'priority' For New Tourism Minister Somsak

[hgma]

Reality is that its always the tourist who gets priority (thats all) protection in the press.

I like to suggest to shift the protection issue to expats as well.

who knows, i might be staying here for ever!!!

[DocN]

Reality is that its always the tourist who gets priority (thats all) protection in the press.

I like to suggest to shift the protection issue to expats as well.

who knows, i might be staying here for ever!!!

Maybe that is the reason, why...

But on a serious note: as a tourist you get priority?

Well...depends on the definition, I guess.

You get priority in being fined for littering on Sukhumvit!

You get priority on overpricing.

You get your full name mentioned in the press, when you are a rape- victim...

Not quiet the priority I'd like to have!