Russian tourism group threatens Thailand boycott

[Genericnic]

Russian Tourism Group Threatens Thailand Boycott

You don't normally open up Thaivisa.com expecting to find good news, but, my goodness.. Jackpot this morning!

Now all we need is for them to actually do it ... with the Chinese hopefully following suit.

David

[laurentbkk]

oh well it seems a good majority of Thaivisa readers are happy about Russians leaving Thailand ... but just to remind you , you also are foreigners in Thailand ,like them. This daily Russian bashing is very annoying , specially from people who think to be so superior than others.

As any other tourists groups , they point a lack in safety and they are right ... Other countries should do the same ....

[chooka]

First the Chinese and now the Russians are turning on the TAT, but don't worry tourist number will still be up this year.

Of course numbers will continue to climb through the roof. In another thread TAT are bracing themselves for the Boom in American tourists who will more than fill the void that may be left by the chinese and Russians.

[jacko45k]

The picture here appears to show a Pegas bus, of which there are quite a lot.

Can the Pegas company (whose MD is Russian I believe), not preselect and control and train the drivers they are using?

Most seem to arrive with a bottle of Lipo and a pair of running shoes.

[PhilipCook]

Thailand, hub of danger

[lovetotravel]

Well, it's actually naive think that Thailand may improve it's road safety because of threats from tourists or tour groups.

I expect the best that Thailand could do would be to pass laws that require higher standards on tour buses that carry tourists, that would do nothing for driving standards in general. Next they could require all tourists to ONLY travel in special buses that adhere to these higher standards, which will mean a fragmentation of pricing and result in higher prices for bus tickets for foreigners compared to Thais.. but with the (possibly illusion, possibly real) benefit of better safety.

Laws are already in place. Enforcement is the problem. Which is lacking mainly due to police corruption.

[Somtamnication]

Well, it's actually naive think that Thailand may improve it's road safety because of threats from tourists or tour groups.

I expect the best that Thailand could do would be to pass laws that require higher standards on tour buses that carry tourists, that would do nothing for driving standards in general. Next they could require all tourists to ONLY travel in special buses that adhere to these higher standards, which will mean a fragmentation of pricing and result in higher prices for bus tickets for foreigners compared to Thais.. but with the (possibly illusion, possibly real) benefit of better safety.

Why pass more laws? There are enough laws in Thailand. The issue is ENFORCEMENT of said laws.

[JoeThePoster]

Russian tourism group threatens Thailand boycott

Not fair, they shoulda at least waited until those 3 mutts sentenced to 100+ years were released on good behaviour next week.

[silent]

Good, stay away. Too many dubious Russians here already.

So you prefer others to continue to be killed by reckless driving and lack of rules ?

You're right, maybe we should weigh pros and cons before making blanket statements like that over such a serious matter............Good recommendation is equipping buses with soundproof stalls for drivers, so they stop jumping off.

[sadhukar]

finally...hopefully something will change

[Somtamnication]

The picture here appears to show a Pegas bus, of which there are quite a lot.

Can the Pegas company (whose MD is Russian I believe), not preselect and control and train the drivers they are using?

Most seem to arrive with a bottle of Lipo and a pair of running shoes.

Another Pegas bus accident in Phuket yesterday, by Boat Lagoon. All the Russians in the median of the highway, astounded by it all. Just a rear end, but still, hell of a welcome to Thailand. The Pegas md is Turkish.

[bangkokheat]

mai pen rai, many more will come

[jacko45k]

The picture here appears to show a Pegas bus, of which there are quite a lot.

Can the Pegas company (whose MD is Russian I believe), not preselect and control and train the drivers they are using?

Most seem to arrive with a bottle of Lipo and a pair of running shoes.

Another Pegas bus accident in Phuket yesterday, by Boat Lagoon. All the Russians in the median of the highway, astounded by it all. Just a rear end, but still, hell of a welcome to Thailand. The Pegas md is Turkish.

Thanks for the correction..... I just knew it wasn't a Thai name...

Plenty of them in Pattaya and for other road users they are a hazard.

[moe666]

That's ripe...Russians complaining about safety! I guess they prefer it when they drink themselves silly and cause the accidents.

yeah you right , aussies , brits and other nationalities dont drink and drive ..... where are you from by the way ?

The OP is about Russians and their safety stay on subject

[wprime]

Always a ****ing PEGAS bus!

[Alwyn]

The RUTI also reportedly demanded the Thai government to solve these issues within the end of November, otherwise it will consider responses necessary to maintain the safety of Russian citizens by canceling all scheduled charter flights from Russia throughout the period of December 2013 - March 2014.

Have they considered how the Thai government gonna solve a serious issue like this within the next 2 weeks.

I guess we may expect a statement from the Thai government soon, similar to the one they made some time ago, that Russian and other tourists have to adjust to Thai road behavior.

Case closed.

Oh, I forgot, they can announce a crack down, we haven't had that in the last 2 days.

So, where is Mr. I-fix-it-in-90-days when they really need him?

Jimmy Saville is dead and buried (thankfully) or he would have fixed it (inbetween his kidy fiddling of course)

[moe666]

Well, it's actually naive think that Thailand may improve it's road safety because of threats from tourists or tour groups.

I expect the best that Thailand could do would be to pass laws that require higher standards on tour buses that carry tourists, that would do nothing for driving standards in general. Next they could require all tourists to ONLY travel in special buses that adhere to these higher standards, which will mean a fragmentation of pricing and result in higher prices for bus tickets for foreigners compared to Thais.. but with the (possibly illusion, possibly real) benefit of better safety.

Laws are already in place. Enforcement is the problem. Which is lacking mainly due to police corruption.

Which is lacking enough police to enforce the laws. I have ridden my bike all over Thailand the only place I have seen a Thai cop patrolling the highway is between lamphang and Lamphun

[bender92]

Seems they'll be going elsewhere then. There's no way on earth Thailand would have even ONE driver retrained within two weeks let alone all of them ... in addition to roads resurfaced, maintenance conducted on every vehicle and a complete overhaul of road safety & regulations.

Mind, that probably won't stop the ministry and TAT claiming in their return correspondence in a few days' time that it has been done and it's therefore safe for the Russians to continue coming.

I think they will want Russian drivers for their Russina buses and Russian tour guides.

[Cuban]

Pity European countries do not do the same !

[silent]

First the Chinese and now the Russians are turning on the TAT, but don't worry tourist number will still be up this year.

Of course numbers will continue to climb through the roof. In another thread TAT are bracing themselves for the Boom in American tourists who will more than fill the void that may be left by the chinese and Russians.

By George, that sounds more like another well planned insurgency.

[Alwyn]

Thailand = 38.1 road fatalities per 100k inhabitants per year and 118.8 fatalities per 100k motor vehicles per year

Russia = 18.6 road fataities per 100k inhabitants per year and 55.4 fatalities per 100k motor vehicles per year They do have a point but in perspective the UK is 2.75 and 5.1 for the same numbers above.

But no more Russians? Oh dear, what a shame (spoken in the voice of Windsor Davies)

[Arkady]

They should go to Indonesia or the Philippines and enjoy wonderful safety there instead.

[Emdog]

Good for the Russians!!!! Two snaps up and a circle! Drawing a line in the sand and all that. Whether the Thais do anything is out of their hands, but about time someone looked out for their countrymen who come here. Bravo!

[monkeycountry]

Double good news.

1. Finally someone threatens Thailand financially. The only form of communication Thai officials and politicians understand.

2. The overturned tour bus is from the company Pegas, as are most of the other crashed busses full of russians. The way this company operates is a disgrace from driver level to management level, so no surprise to me at least, that they are almost always involved in trouble.

[Alwyn]

It does seem rather hypocritical that its Russian Tourism that's threatening with a boycott due to unsafe roads.

Russia would be in my Top Trumps pack for its unsafe driving conditions...

That said: Anyone or any Nation taking a stance and attempting to 'force' Thailand to care about its issues such as this is a good thing.

Thailand = 38.1 road fatalities per 100k inhabitants per year and 118.8 fatalities per 100k motor vehicles per year

Russia = 18.6 road fataities per 100k inhabitants per year and 55.4 fatalities per 100k motor vehicles per year

Seems it's twice as safe on the roads of Russia

[Local Drunk]

If this were the Cold War, the headline would have read:

"Russians Refuse to Defect to Thailand for Fear of Their Safety"

[Bender]

i know its out of topic but i just want to say:

i love russian people.

but about you guy on TV, especially for you:

Edited November 21, 2013 by Bender

[anthos]

The picture here appears to show a Pegas bus, of which there are quite a lot.

Can the Pegas company (whose MD is Russian I believe), not preselect and control and train the drivers they are using?

Most seem to arrive with a bottle of Lipo and a pair of running shoes.

This is the only smart post on the thread

As a Russian travel professional working in LOS from 2001 I'd say that

a. No boycott (especially cancelling flights) is going to happen before Putin understands that people hate him and his junta more after visiting Thailand : ). That could be the only possible reason. Other than that is BS. Too much money is involved and all the winter tours are almost sold out.

b. Bluffing by this RUTI or whoever won't have any effect neither on road safety nor on the RUTI members - travel agents and operators (which are forced by Russian Gov to join this useless organizations). The next day a direct flight to Thailand is cancelled they'll start sending more tourists on Finnair or Lufthansa.

c. Russian roads and road safety won't even compare to Thai. They are a long way worse.

Russians demanding road/transport safety from anyone sound comical. Or even cynical as it comes up a few day after a Boeing crash in Kazan.

d. As jacko says. The only way to deal with the problem is to go after the tour operator.

Pegas is one of the biggest Russia companies. They are the ones that should be responsible.

Charge them extra for insurances or medical expenses. Put their name in the news. So they'd double check drivers and other things next time.

Edited November 21, 2013 by anthos

[Sakeopete]

Nothing the TAT can't fix with the delivery of a special lunch box to the RUTI director.

[monkeycountry]

From his sickbed, Chalerm has announced a crackdown on crashing tour busses, and has promised to stop tour busses from crashing withing 3 months!