Thai officials to regulate Damoen Saduak floating market

[webfact]

Officials To Regulate Damoen Saduak Floating Market
By Khaosod English


Monks receive alms at Damoen Saduak floating market on 21 November 2010 (Photo by Matichon)

RATCHABURI — Local authorities in Ratchaburi province will begin enforcing a cheaper, fixed price for boat rides along Thailand's famous floating market in Damoen Saduak district.

According to the Governor of Ratchaburi province, Nisit Chansomwong, many Thai and foreign tourists have complained about the "extortionate" prices charged by locals to tour the market by boat.

The Damoen Saduak floating market, where vendors sell a variety of goods and produce from small boats, is one of Thailand’s top tourist destinations and considered the country’s "original floating market."

The Governor said he plans to enforce new fixed prices that will apply to all boat owners operating along the market. Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners.

Mr. Nisit said the price measure is the first of many efforts - both short and long term - to regulate the famed floating market, though he did not elaborate.

"This action is just the first step. We will improve [the floating market] into an exemplar tourist site," Mr. Nisit said.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1408359705&typecate=06&section=


-- Khaosod English 2014-08-19

[retell]

2000 thb per hour ?????

That an extortioned price

Didnt he go to that un understanding thingy

Plain cold discrimination

[NongKhaiKid]

Will TAT be advertising these prices for foreigners ?

let's hope travel shows, magazines and guide books jump all over it.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

"The Governor said he plans to enforce new fixed prices that will apply to all boat owners operating along the market. Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners."

AKA: state sponsored two tier pricing (or discrimination or whatever you want to call it) New rulers, same old Bullshit.

[retell]

Will TAT be advertising these prices for foreigners ?

let's hope travel shows, magazines and guide books jump all over it.

Logic would be keep the pricez the same for all ,, 800 thb is allready tooo much

[retell]

I guess its the rental for the entire boat and not a per person fee ?

[ukrules]

Will TAT be advertising these prices for foreigners ?

let's hope travel shows, magazines and guide books jump all over it.

I'm sure TAT won't be mentioning but I'll be sure to take every opportunity to mention something along the lines of 'It's 800 if you're a Thai and only 2000 Baht for the foreigner.'

[ukrules]

2000 Baht per hour vs 800 Baht per hour, there's something wrong there.

How much do they charge right now per hour for a foreigner renting a boat ?

[Payboy]

So, what were the extortionate prices?

[NongKhaiKid]

Will TAT be advertising these prices for foreigners ?

let's hope travel shows, magazines and guide books jump all over it.

I'm sure TAT won't be mentioning but I'll be sure to take every opportunity to mention something along the lines of 'It's 800 if you're a Thai and only 2000 Baht for the foreigner.'

I'm sending an e-mail to the BBC's ' The Travel Show ' but over the years they have proved to be reluctant to mention too many negatives about various countries.

Mabye the staff don't want to lose out on all the freebie stays etc when reporting.

[BSJ]

Well the little Thai guy has to row twice as hard with those big fat rsed farang on board!

[NongKhaiKid]

Well the little Thai guy has to row twice as hard with those big fat rsed farang on board!

Not on a motor boat unless the engine is maintained to usual Thai standards !

In - Out - In- Out

[daveAustin]

Well the little Thai guy has to row twice as hard with those big fat rsed farang on board!

Plenty of 'fat rsed' Merc-driving Thais nowadays too. Have you noticed?

But 800 vs 2000 lol. The disparity is widening. I wouldn't raise an eyebrow at 1000/2000. Grow up Siam, it's not 1914!

Edited August 19, 2014 by daveAustin

[rametindallas]

'... and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners.'

This is not about 'foreigners'. This is racial. A lady friend of mine came from Taiwan to visit me in Bangkok and when we visited Wat Po, they charged me and never gave her a second glance. She is a 'foreigner' (Taiwanese), same as me, and not Thai. They are basing these prices on skin color and that is racism. If they demanded that Thais show their national identity cards, then it would be discriminatory only and not racial. In either case, it is wrong.

On another note, if the officials are saying that Bt. 2,000 per hour is an acceptable price for foreigners, I wonder what the price was before they decided to regulate the prices. Personally, I think that, in any free market, a business should have the right to price itself completely out of business.

[larsjohnsson]

More expensive than flying to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. What a joke 2000 baht for a short boat ride

[mango66]

rip off tourists and rasist pricing,

[Artisi]

-- and of course this would also apply to "local" foreigners living in Thailand.

Suggest everyone boycotts this rip-off and advised / point out to anyone contemplating a visit to do likewise - and also take every opportunity to make everyone aware of this way overpriced 2 tiered pricing. .

[seajae]

once again the racist policies promoted by some in Thailand are showing their ugly face, 250% farang surcharges are way over the top but typical of what people can expect from these rip off merchants. This may not be all of Thailand but it shows just how backward thinking these people can be, one has to wonder what price they will charge for a mixed marriage couple, maybe they will split the difference. Lets hope this gets lots of air time overseas so that the idiot proposing this loses face severely or they start charging thais in western countries a 250% surcharge on everything they want to do there, cant believe how pathetic some of these idiots are.

[iReason]

"...foreign tourists have complained about the "extortionate" prices charged by locals to tour the market by boat."

"Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners."

A lot of people on TV flapping their wings about the wonderful "changes" going on.

Very little attention given to the blatant racism, xenophobia and bigotry that is institutionalized in this "society".

Absolutely outrageous that they exhibit it so freely.

Change?

Forget it, in yours or your child's lifetime.

I expect all the “falang” eventually to be pushed out of the LOS ()

They just don’t understand “Thainess”...

[retell]

"...foreign tourists have complained about the "extortionate" prices charged by locals to tour the market by boat."

"Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners."

A lot of people on TV flapping their wings about the wonderful "changes" going on.

Very little attention given to the blatant racism, xenophobia and bigotry that is institutionalized in this "society".

Absolutely outrageous that they exhibit it so freely.

Change?

Forget it, in yours or your child's lifetime.

I expect all the “falang” eventually to be pushed out of the LOS ()

They just don’t understand “Thainess”...

Understand thainess all too well ,,

The main reason i live in the middle of isaan and not some tourist hotspot .

[h90]

If this is the controlled price, what do they charge now?

[h90]

"...foreign tourists have complained about the "extortionate" prices charged by locals to tour the market by boat."

"Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners."

A lot of people on TV flapping their wings about the wonderful "changes" going on.

Very little attention given to the blatant racism, xenophobia and bigotry that is institutionalized in this "society".

Absolutely outrageous that they exhibit it so freely.

Change?

Forget it, in yours or your child's lifetime.

I expect all the “falang” eventually to be pushed out of the LOS ()

They just don’t understand “Thainess”...

well that double price practice is worldwide common in tourist spots.....Go on the mountains in Europe and enjoy it the same as in Thailand.

[iReason]

"...foreign tourists have complained about the "extortionate" prices charged by locals to tour the market by boat."

"Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners."

A lot of people on TV flapping their wings about the wonderful "changes" going on.

Very little attention given to the blatant racism, xenophobia and bigotry that is institutionalized in this "society".

Absolutely outrageous that they exhibit it so freely.

Change?

Forget it, in yours or your child's lifetime.

I expect all the “falang” eventually to be pushed out of the LOS ()

They just don’t understand “Thainess”...

well that double price practice is worldwide common in tourist spots.....Go on the mountains in Europe and enjoy it the same as in Thailand.

[Qauvorka]

Seems they made it more expensive last year I hired a larger motor boat there just for my family so I didn't have to share and it cost me 1500 baht for supposedly 1 and a half hours which fell short but still alot less than 2000

[Thanet]

Tourist trap. There are other (and better) floating markets in Thailand.

[marcusd]

Bigger em. Let them drown

[ttthailand]

How about a boat that is 50/50 Thai and farang ? 1,250 baht ?

[peterdarby]

"...foreign tourists have complained about the "extortionate" prices charged by locals to tour the market by boat."

"Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners."

A lot of people on TV flapping their wings about the wonderful "changes" going on.

Very little attention given to the blatant racism, xenophobia and bigotry that is institutionalized in this "society".

Absolutely outrageous that they exhibit it so freely.

Change?

Forget it, in yours or your child's lifetime.

I expect all the “falang” eventually to be pushed out of the LOS ()

They just don’t understand “Thainess”...

well that double price practice is worldwide common in tourist spots.....Go on the mountains in Europe and enjoy it the same as in Thailand.

Not where I come from. Price to see stonehenge is the same if you come from Uxbridge or Uzbekistan. Taxi fare is the same whether you are Mancunian or Macedonian.

[Artisi]

"...foreign tourists have complained about the "extortionate" prices charged by locals to tour the market by boat."

"Under the new regulation, hiring a row boat will cost 400 baht per hour, while a motor boat will cost 800 baht per hour for Thais and 2,000 baht per hour for foreigners."

A lot of people on TV flapping their wings about the wonderful "changes" going on.

Very little attention given to the blatant racism, xenophobia and bigotry that is institutionalized in this "society".

Absolutely outrageous that they exhibit it so freely.

Change?

Forget it, in yours or your child's lifetime.

I expect all the “falang” eventually to be pushed out of the LOS ()

They just don’t understand “Thainess”...

well that double price practice is worldwide common in tourist spots.....Go on the mountains in Europe and enjoy it the same as in Thailand.

Not where I come from. Price to see stonehenge is the same if you come from Uxbridge or Uzbekistan. Taxi fare is the same whether you are Mancunian or Macedonian.

Suggest you explain Mancunian as many will get it completely wrong

[Boycie]

If this is the controlled price, what do they charge now?

Reports of people being asked for 1,000Baht per person then haggled down to 400baht per person.

Some groups have paid 1,500baht and 1,800baht for the boat and their trips.

Just read reports of tourist saying they paid 1,500baht each!

It's been a few years since i visited with family/friends and remember it was hard work to negotiate a price. Think we ending up paying about 200 baht each but we had longer than an hour for sure. It was early afternoon and very quiet, most of the tourists had been and gone.