Phuket Tour Guides Protest ‘Great Chinese Takeaway’

[Locationthailand]

Phuket is such a sh*t hole. Full of maifias all the way from the armchair mafias controlling the beach which they have no right to do, to the tuk tuk rip offs and of course all the other scammers like jet skis and motor bike hires.

Now we have tour guides complaining because they tell it like it is? And the source of the bar girls and ladyboys is not family? Oh well, another day in the LOS (Land of Scams) and Thai's trying to oust competition. One day they will wake up but it won't be too soon I fear.

[annabel]

Nope and as I have said above = all need to learn English //// travellers as well as locals who wish to entertain tourists or be a tourist ... both ways ...

My wife is a tour-guide (not in phuket) and speaks reasonable English. Often they just have a tour leader there as a liaison that speaks English too. But for the money tour guides get you guys expect an awful lot. Maybe if they got twice as much then it would be good. Most people who speak Chinese or Japanese fluid could find much better paying jobs somewhere else.

He doesn't get it .. something about stones sins and first

Telling Thais to learn languages when he himself lives in an other country and does not even try to speak it.

Sure the one thing is professional and the other private but still stupid comment.

Ok Einstein.

If I live in OZ and go for a job as a tour guide for people from Afghanistan it would be daft of me to complain about an Afghan doing that job when I can do it. I can't do it, I don't speak Afgahn. So if I want the job I have to learn that language.

So what has me learning Thai have to do with a Thai learning a language to get a job that needs someone to speak that language.

Or would you prefer that everyone on the tour has to learn Thai so the Thai tour guide can get a job.

Sheesh some people are thick.

[annabel]

So does China .... and India and... well

Actually Australia has english and around 400 indigenous languages unique to Australia.

My wife is a tour-guide (not in phuket) and speaks reasonable English. Often they just have a tour leader there as a liaison that speaks English too. But for the money tour guides get you guys expect an awful lot. Maybe if they got twice as much then it would be good. Most people who speak Chinese or Japanese fluid could find much better paying jobs somewhere else.

Why should an english speaking person learn another language if they don't work in an industry that needs it? Why should any person learn a second language that is not needed. Simply, they don't.

But the Thais are complaining about foreign tour guides taking their jobs. Well if they can speak Russian or Chinese and can take those jobs then yes it is a valid complaint.

But until Thais who can speak Russian and/or Chineses complain about it then I'm afraid it's all just more of the same bullsh*t.

An English speaking person should learn another language, when he/she lives in another non English speaking country, like Thailand, for instance.

Has nothing to do with only the industry you work in only.

I have lived and worked in 38 countries during my working life, should I have learned them all?

Belgium has 2 official, Holland, Germany, France, Portugal,most of the Spanish speaking countries in South America speak Spanish differently, English in the UK, USA, SA, OZ, NZ is different from each other, Pakistan has a few, Bangladesh has a few, countries in Africa have many and Papua New Guinea about 7 or 800 different ones.

[vijer]

So they have been working on the Russian tour operators and that worked so now it's time to work on the Chinese tour operators. I guess there aren't many Western tour operators or they would have been complaining about them before the Russians and Chinese.

[KarenBravo]

How many of the whingers on here also whinge about foreigners under cutting them in their own country. Love the hypocrisy on here.

Errrrm.......none as far as I can see.

Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?

In the western world, the idea of competition whereby someone can offer the same thing for less is accepted. Doubt anyone "whinges" about it.

Where is the hypocrisy you mention?

[NamKangMan]

How many of the whingers on here also whinge about foreigners under cutting them in their own country. Love the hypocrisy on here.

Errrrm.......none as far as I can see.

Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?

In the western world, the idea of competition whereby someone can offer the same thing for less is accepted. Doubt anyone "whinges" about it.

Where is the hypocrisy you mention?

I think what he is getting at is foreigners can "undercut" because many of them work in the black economy (for cash - no tax/insurance to pay) so their hourly rate, or quote for the job, is cheaper.

[NamKangMan]

I suspect that most, if not all of the Thai tourist guides can't speak fluent or maybe any Chinese. How can they possibly be of any use to Chinese tourists that can't understand them?

True, Thais need to learn a 2nd language if they want to work with a specific group of people and not just sit back and complain.

I wonder how many of the people stating this are themselves fluid in a second language. Most native English speakers don't speak 2 languages.

My wife is a tour-guide (not in phuket) and speaks reasonable English. Often they just have a tour leader there as a liaison that speaks English too. But for the money tour guides get you guys expect an awful lot. Maybe if they got twice as much then it would be good. Most people who speak Chinese or Japanese fluid could find much better paying jobs somewhere else.

Even though I agree a Thai with good language skills should get more money. The Thai person becomes a tour guide because they want to. So they should learn the language of their customers... and no I do not speak fluent Thai. I speak baby Thai

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

I agree, and in the interim, while Thai's are learning Chinese, Russian and Hindi - they should allow interpretors or foreign tour guides to provide communication with the new demographic of customers.

The Thai's learnt English (enough to communicate with customers) years ago when their market was predominately western tourists. Now, the TAT is marketing heavily to the emerging economies, they need to start learn these languages.

[robblok]

Just as tourguides should learn the language of their clients people should learn the language of the country they settle in. So those are both about learning the language.

I would not mind a thing if you spoke Thai a bit and commented on these tourguides (and your right so) but you don't even speak the language of the country you are in not even a bit and you complain about others be it professional not speaking a language and you call me thick.

Well.....I agree with everything Fdog says and I DO speak Thai (pretty well, if I do say so myself).

Seems to me self-evident. If you need to learn a language for your profession, but are no good at it, then you can expect people that do speak the language to fill that slot, regardless of nationality. Supply and demand and all that.

Someone living in Thailand speaking, or not speaking Thai is a choice and is a completely different issue to the subject being discussed (even though I agree with Robblok on this)

Oh but i do agree wiht Fdog on the fact that they have to speak the language of those they are helping, however people who can't even be bothered to learn the language of the country they live in should not comment in topics like this. It both comes down to being to thick or lazy to learn a language.

[ozyjon]

I suspect that most, if not all of the Thai tourist guides can't speak fluent or maybe any Chinese. How can they possibly be of any use to Chinese tourists that can't understand them?

True, Thais need to learn a 2nd language if they want to work with a specific group of people and not just sit back and complain.

No they will just sit back and complain,, it's easier.

[blackthorn2005]

I suspect that most, if not all of the Thai tourist guides can't speak fluent or maybe any Chinese. How can they possibly be of any use to Chinese tourists that can't understand them?

Trouble is that if they learned the language they would then fully understand any complaint the tourist had and would have to do something about it instead of just giving the stupid smile and ignoring it.

It would help if they started taking care of tourists, instead of ripping them off and assaulting them! All these people do well is whinge.

[Jimi007]

Now they are after Thais as well"

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Tourist-Police-arrest-illegal-Thai-tour-guides-20937.html

PHUKET: Seven Thais working illegally as tour guides catering to Chinese tourists in Phuket were arrested in the wake of a mass protest on Monday demanding the government take action against illegal guides.

The protest on Monday focused on Chinese nationals “stealing” the jobs of Thai tour guides, though those protesting also asked Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak to raise the cap on the number of professional Thai guides allowed to cater to Chinese tourists in Phuket, which now sits at only 80 (story here).

By law, only Thai nationals certified by the Professional Guide Association (PGA) may be employed as tour guides in Thailand.

Of the seven illegal guides picked up by the Phuket Tourist Police yesterday, two were found in possession of ya ice(crystal methamphetamine), said Phuket Tourist Police Inspector Urumporn Koondejsumrit.

“The seven people arrested were Thai. They have all been charged with working as tour guides without being properly certified,” Maj Urumporn said.

“Two of the seven have also been charged with possession of a category one drug,” he added.

[FDog]

Just as tourguides should learn the language of their clients people should learn the language of the country they settle in. So those are both about learning the language.

I would not mind a thing if you spoke Thai a bit and commented on these tourguides (and your right so) but you don't even speak the language of the country you are in not even a bit and you complain about others be it professional not speaking a language and you call me thick.

Well.....I agree with everything Fdog says and I DO speak Thai (pretty well, if I do say so myself).

Seems to me self-evident. If you need to learn a language for your profession, but are no good at it, then you can expect people that do speak the language to fill that slot, regardless of nationality. Supply and demand and all that.

Someone living in Thailand speaking, or not speaking Thai is a choice and is a completely different issue to the subject being discussed (even though I agree with Robblok on this)

Oh but i do agree wiht Fdog on the fact that they have to speak the language of those they are helping, however people who can't even be bothered to learn the language of the country they live in should not comment in topics like this. It both comes down to being to thick or lazy to learn a language.

Well I hope that it is ok for me to comment on someone who commits murder even though I have never done it or even attempted to do it.

[iSabai]

I suspect that most, if not all of the Thai tourist guides can't speak fluent or maybe any Chinese. How can they possibly be of any use to Chinese tourists that can't understand them?

True, Thais need to learn a 2nd language if they want to work with a specific group of people and not just sit back and complain.

No they will just sit back and complain,, it's easier.

Sitting back and complaining like you're doing then ozyjon? Tell me, did everyone in the UK run out and learn Polish to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? Did everyone in Oz run out and learn Vietnamese to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? Did everyone in the US run out and learn Spanish to accommodate all the immigrants from Latino speaking countries? Did everyone in Canada run out and learn American to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? (Okay, being facetious on that last one... )

Seriously though, do you really think it's as easy as a simple snap of the fingers to instantly have Thais learn other languages? And Russian, Chinese, Hindi of all of them?? I'd like to see you do it.

Edited May 4, 2013 by iSabai

[KarenBravo]

I suspect that most, if not all of the Thai tourist guides can't speak fluent or maybe any Chinese. How can they possibly be of any use to Chinese tourists that can't understand them?

True, Thais need to learn a 2nd language if they want to work with a specific group of people and not just sit back and complain.

No they will just sit back and complain,, it's easier.

Sitting back and complaining like you're doing then ozyjon? Tell me, did everyone in the UK run out and learn Polish to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? Did everyone in Oz run out and learn Vietnamese to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? Did everyone in the US run out and learn Spanish to accommodate all the immigrants from Latino speaking countries? Did everyone in Canada run out and learn American to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? (Okay, being facetious on that last one... )

Seriously though, do you really think it's as easy as a simple snap of the fingers to instantly have Thais learn other languages? And Russian, Chinese, Hindi of all of them?? I'd like to see you do it.

No, but they weren't guides, were they?

I guess your way of thinking a professional English to Hungarian translator would have a legitimate complaint if they got turned down for a job because they didn't speak Hungarian.

PS the "like" I gave you was a mistake. I was looking for the quote button.

[simon43]

There are many Thai-Chinese families living and working in Phuket, to such an extent that there are government (Thai-Hua) and private schools that include Chinese as a core subject. I'm sure there are thousands of Thai nationals in Phuket who speak fluent Chinese, as a result of their family background.

The shortage of Thai tour guides who speak Chinese seems to be partly due to the cap of 80 licensed guides mentioned in previous posts. Why that limit exists, when Chinese tourist numbers are high, (my own hotel stats indicate 85% of them are Chinese), is beyond me.

Perhaps the Phuket authorities can explain the reason for this limit?

I suspect that many Thai-Chinese are simply not interested to enter a 'profession' with such a low reputation that is seemingly based on earning kickbacks from gem shops....

Simon

[iSabai]

I suspect that most, if not all of the Thai tourist guides can't speak fluent or maybe any Chinese. How can they possibly be of any use to Chinese tourists that can't understand them?

No they will just sit back and complain,, it's easier.

Sitting back and complaining like you're doing then ozyjon? Tell me, did everyone in the UK run out and learn Polish to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? Did everyone in Oz run out and learn Vietnamese to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? Did everyone in the US run out and learn Spanish to accommodate all the immigrants from Latino speaking countries? Did everyone in Canada run out and learn American to accommodate all the immigrants from that country? (Okay, being facetious on that last one... )

Seriously though, do you really think it's as easy as a simple snap of the fingers to instantly have Thais learn other languages? And Russian, Chinese, Hindi of all of them?? I'd like to see you do it.

No, but they weren't guides, were they?

I guess your way of thinking a professional English to Hungarian translator would have a legitimate complaint if they got turned down for a job because they didn't speak Hungarian.

PS the "like" I gave you was a mistake. I was looking for the quote button.

Not sure exactly what you meant by that KB, with the Eng. --> Hung. thing. But I just find it rather smug of people to think that just because there's Chinese and/or Russians coming to Phuket that Thais would instantly learn those languages. It's just not a reasonable expectation.

If Thai laws keep qualified native speakers of whatever language from working here in tourism related fields, then that's another issue. I have no problem with native speakers working with their countrymen. But blaming Thais for not speaking those languages is a (just barely) subtle form of Thai-bashing.

PS, You can 'unlike' something you've 'liked' once you already 'liked' it then changed your mind.

Edited May 5, 2013 by iSabai