webfact Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Phuket tour boat owners fight illegal boat operators with new clubPhuket GazetteKrissada Phichetponsanon, Managing Director of the Andavaree company, said forming a club would help local operators shut down illegal foreign operators. Photo: Saran MitraratPHUKET: -- Island tour boat operators met in Phuket on Friday to discuss forming a club to help combat what they say is customer-poaching by illegally operated, foreign-owned companies.The group’s ire is focused mainly on Chinese and Russian companies that they claim are set up using a Thai nominee.“In the past, Chinese and Russian tour operators contacted us for boat rentals, Thai tour guides, hotels and restaurants,” said Krissada Phichetponsanon, Managing Director of the Andavaree company.“They’re not doing that anymore. We’ve seen the number of bookings made by Chinese and Russian tourists go steadily down, while their actual numbers on the island are going up all the time. Nowadays they’re booking with operators of their own nationality,” said Mr Krissada.The foreign operators have more money to invest, Mr Krissada added, making it easy for them to squeeze out smaller operators.The new club would comprise 40 tour boat companies representing about 1,000 boats and would include representatives from the Marine Police, Marine Office, Immigration, Tourism Authority of Thailand and other relevant officers, he said.Coordination would help local operators identify illegal companies and guides. However, that would not be its only purpose.“It will increase safety by making it easier to get help in emergencies. For example, if one boat is in trouble it can notify the office, which could then locate nearby members and dispatch them to help,” said Mr Krissada.The group also plans to set standard prices within the club that will be transparent to tourists and prevent underbidding.The next meeting, with officials in attendance, will be held at Royal Phuket City Hotel on March 20.Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Phuket-tour-boat-owners-fight-illegal-boat-operators-with-new-club-27801.html-- Phuket Gazette 2014-03-10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post LivinginKata Posted March 10, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted March 10, 2014 Oh no ... tour boat mafia on the rise. We can expect boat blockades of the harbours. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Thaddeus Posted March 10, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted March 10, 2014 Blatant admission that if there is any competition, they would lose. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertthebruce Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Didums..... threw his rattle out of his pram... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iSabai Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Good lord, what next? A restaurant mafia? Bar mafia? Massage mafia? 7-Eleven mafia? Where does the madness that is Phuket end? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NomadJoe Posted March 10, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted March 10, 2014 If the members of this new boat operators club wish to insure there is a future for them they should all conduct themselves with a bit more eco-friendlyness than they do at present. No feeding fish, allowing snorklers to touch marine life and walk on coral, stop fishing in protected areas, and most of all, stop dropping anchors on the coral reefs. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingtongfarang Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Good lord, what next? A restaurant mafia? Bar mafia? Massage mafia? 7-Eleven mafia? Where does the madness that is Phuket end? As long as the police mafia condones it never. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zig Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 > The group also plans to set standard prices within the club that will be transparent to tourists and prevent underbidding. Well, in some other countries such price fixing would be illegal. I wonder if similar laws exist in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinginKata Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 > The group also plans to set standard prices within the club that will be transparent to tourists and prevent underbidding. Well, in some other countries such price fixing would be illegal. I wonder if similar laws exist in Thailand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 The new club would comprise 40 tour boat companies representing about 1,000 boats and would include representatives from the Marine Police, Marine Office, Immigration, Tourism Authority of Thailand and other relevant officers, he said. II wonder if fully legal, foreign-owned tour boat companies will be invited to join. Or is this just a club for Thais? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurentbkk Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 welcome to the real business world Mr Krissada ...... Maybe those tour operators were bored with your practices and prices ... you never know ! I dont think blaming foreign companies will help either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dap Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Oh no ... tour boat mafia on the rise. We can expect boat blockades of the harbours. And, you can bet "setting standard prices" won't be on the "reasonable" side either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiMouse Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Laughter alert, " The group also plans to set standard prices" , are these also going to be set like the Tuk Tuk prices also set on Phuket? Maybe the tourists are just tired of being ripped an new A-hole everytime they want to do a tour or go on a trip. Bit more honesty in business could see your customer base rise? 555. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre0720 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Good lord, what next? A restaurant mafia? Bar mafia? Massage mafia? 7-Eleven mafia? Where does the madness that is Phuket end? Mafia in Thailand is not spoken with the 'high' or 'rising' tone. Mafia is spoken with a mellow tone, giving it an aura of legitimacy... Nothing personal.....just business... At least they are at home.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickirs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Forming a club to help combat the competition is a very worthy and tourist friendly effort to gain back customers. But to characterize foreign-owned companies established legally by using a Thai nominee as the cause for losing customers is wrong. Thailand set up such corporate arrangements to attract foreign investment while keeping 51% control in Thai ownership and now it's working against 100% native-owned businesses. Something else that is also wrong is that this club is a for-profit orangization. So why would police or any other government agency be part of the club? Their membership or representation in the club seems to be a conflict of interest that is immediately biased towards foreign-owned companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelepulse Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Collusion, price fixing, not allowing competition.......Isn't this a punishable offence in most countries ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 God, I hope my roti seller doesn't start a freegin' roti seller club! Phuket Hopes U Can Keep Everyone's Roti (P.H.U.C.K.E.R). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jocko Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 O Dear What will the Russian and Chinese do now. I see a war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travel Dude Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Is the club also preventing "overcharging" of tourists, which damages the reputation of honest boat operators? Or does the club only look at "undercharging" and is in fact practicing "price fixing"? Phuket, still way to go before being a world class destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 If the members of this new boat operators club wish to insure there is a future for them they should all conduct themselves with a bit more eco-friendlyness than they do at present. No feeding fish, allowing snorklers to touch marine life and walk on coral, stop fishing in protected areas, and most of all, stop dropping anchors on the coral reefs. Excellent points, but I doubt the Chinese/Russian run operations will do any better. Might even be worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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