TAT: Thai tourism will quickly rebound following govt's statement on Koh Tao murder

[seajae]

Catch them and we will be grateful .

But don't we will stay away

Thailand and its people will always be a great people. Shit happens. Yes it's bad that these two people have been killed, but show me one country in this world that does not have this type of behavior. No matter where you go, bad things can happen. Tell me where in the western countries, a young woman will walk around after 1or 2 in the morning in a bikini and not be harassed. I will bet Fred Flintstone has never even been to Thailand.

the gold coast in Australia for one and there are plenty more. At least there they will seal off the crime scene, actually get people that know what they are doing to investigate and not publish pics of the deceased couple on their facebook pages or give bullsh*t quotes to newspapers. If the police were not so incompetent and actually did the right thing we wouldnt be seeing all these bullsh*t articles and they woulf have actually done constructive investigating and taken a lot more dna samples, It is the total incompetence of the police and the reporters that is p*ssing everyone off, why cant they just do their jobs properly without all the crap. By the way, she wasnt wondering around in a bikini!!!!!

[SteveFong]

I was there for 6 months, and alone, pumped in 750,000 baht to the economy of bkk and chaing mai

I am in no hurry to return

[mikiea]

wow i am new here,...but i must say,almost all of these posts are way out of line, you whine, complain,demand,cry,& whine & whine, scheeeze give it a break.if you truly do not like it "here" take your old cheap boney ass elsewhere.there are pleanty of third world countrys full of skank bar girls that would love you long time :-) these murders on the beach are so very sad, you should be in the corner of the police.they not the "YARD", "FBI" or "CSI OF NYC", this is thailand,have you forgotten? also,the parents of these young people check this blog many times each day. they should have to read the stupid rants of a tired old fart? do not hurt them any further. jonclark has the only post that made sense to me :-)

[klauskunkel]

the Thai government’s announcement, issued to London, confirmed Thailand was doing the utmost in bringing the culprits to justice.

definition of utmost:

1. The Thai police doing it's very best to destroy the crime scene

2. The Thai DNA technicians have read the manual and can now do family profiling

3. The reward money tripled

4. There is now a reluctant acceptance that the perp may have some Thai ancestry

[almafudd]

Oh how I have missed TAT's statements...

Just one thing though - it's all well and good they catch the perpetrators, but does really make Thailand a safer tourist destination?

I think NOT!!! All the statistics speak for themselves.

[jollyhangmon]

Quote: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has expressed confidence that the Thai tourism situation will improve soon after the government issued an announcement ...

>> Not only did we - the mighty TAT - issue this statement which makes it law in itself, we also made sure anything like that wouldn't occur again:

Although certainly nobody knows who the culprits are we already conducted exorcism on them by filling them up a bit with water - not too excessive though as we (sort of ?) learned something from that 15 y.o. bloke who just checked out a year or so ago after such trusted treatment.

We also told them in case of any repetition to put the murder-weapon safely in the hand of one victim to ease it up a bit for our skilled, unbiased Brownies to label and wrap it up quickly as the usual (murder-)suicide before you know it.

On top of that we will ensure that henceforth every tree, fence and car-antenna on that island - or the whole country for that matter - is covered with all kind of underpanties as this is widely known and proven to ward of evil spirits - which of course are the only ones to blame for what happened anyway. <<

=> ... well, dunno about you, but i feel a lot safer now already, with that statement and all ... !?

[almafudd]

Paradise lost, such a beautiful island overrun with crap development ,water pollution, hellishly noisy taxi boats and all night dico noise, now this violence, paradise lost.

I think that this statement can pretty much sum up all of Thailand's tourist areas.

If not ALL on Thailand...

[culicine]

It as reported that the number of British tourists to Koh Tao has dropped dramatically. There should be a boycott of the island until the murderers are caught. I know a lot of good people would suffer from this, but someones hand needs to be forced on this issue. Who would want to visit such a small island, where it is known killers could be walking free?.....if not caught they will surely be back.

[wow64]

Seriously all the concern is will tourism bounce back.. Wow

[outsider]

How can the announcement help if the culprits are not caught yet?

Doesn't matter that it actually doesn't help. Fact is they believe in their own crap and that's what matters to them.

[DLock]

Sad thing is that TAT are probably correct.

Let's face it. They haven't had to do much in the past to increase tourism numbers.

Regardless of the political trouble, tsunami, bird flue etc, tourism just increased, and they all took credit for it, enjoyed worldwide junkets and wonderful Christmas bonuses.

Tourism is down this year, and they really don't have a clue what to do.

The result is ridiculous articles like this....and no doubt more to follow.

[epicstuff]

Catch them and we will be grateful .

But don't we will stay away

i dont think tourism will be effected in the long term . murders happen everywhere not exclusive to Koh Tao the type of people go there will either just see at as part of the adventure of going to a crazy small island or just taking up the cheapest diving in Thailand and perhaps most anywhere else. Sadly these things blow over quickly.

I had an experience, obviously (not with the same ending fortunately) in KPG many years ago . I was having sex with a hot Australian girl on a deserted stretch of beach day time. The sea behind me and a 4 or 5 meter sand wall cliff in-front . we kept hearing movement in the long grass on to of the cliff. and paused our love making to look up on several occasions we just saw the grass move a little then everything went quiet and we carried on, on the 3rd or 4th occassion we looked up and saw a man staring at us wearing one of them spooky full face fishing balaclavas they wear. It spooked us right out and we ended up running into the shallow sea with lots of sharp coral and flagged down a passing longtail boat...I could tell you all about a dozen other ( close shave )moments there which involved death threats by people with machettes or watching a friend stabbed after reacting to being ripped off etc . The point to this story is despite horrors or close shaves a day or 2 later the whole event goes down as just another story which enhanced the travel experience. never did i consider not coming back and the story of wild times probably fuelled more poeple i told them to more eager to visit.

[shanahan]

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TAT, pls make Thailand a bikini free country to lower crime and boost tourism.

For once i agree - women should just go naked !!

Suriya great idea

wow i am new here,...but i must say,almost all of these posts are way out of line, you whine, complain,demand,cry,& whine & whine, scheeeze give it a break.if you truly do not like it "here" take your old cheap boney ass elsewhere.there are pleanty of third world countrys full of skank bar girls that would love you long time :-) these murders on the beach are so very sad, you should be in the corner of the police.they not the "YARD", "FBI" or "CSI OF NYC", this is thailand,have you forgotten? also,the parents of these young people check this blog many times each day. they should have to read the stupid rants of a tired old fart? do not hurt them any further. jonclark has the only post that made sense to me :-)

Do you think out of all the posts here that jonclark's is not a stupid rant and that the parents would find that exceptable to read?

As for your post, it seems that the pot is calling the kettle black.

[poweratradio]

How many of these posters actually live, work and or have anything to do with this targeted beach area???? If nothing.... the shut the f#%&@ up and let the authorities finish the job their way which could include various media releases as an investigative tool. If some of you poster mouth pieces don't even live in LOS then you just mind your own d@#% business where you live.

[IAMHERE]

Why was a comment made by a way high up about bikini's? I have to wonder if some 'protected' person saw the female victim earlier in the day when she had on a bikini. There is a reason for the comment, the 'protected person' saw her earlier in the day when she looked provocative on the beach. The authorities knew from the beginning who was responsible. She unwittingly excited somebody during the day when she had on her bikini, not the bar. If so, don't expect any solving of this crime. If not, what's with the bikini comment ?

[khunjamesjohnson]

All Thailand needs now is ebola to catch on... then I would love to see how the TAT handle that.

TAT's statement clearly defines what it thinks of the murders... an inconvenience to tourism

Oddly enough the Haj pilgrimmage to Mecca starts on Oct. 5.

Ebola has reared it's ugly head in Saudi to more than the 2 deaths

reported on the BBC a couple weeks ago. The Saudi health authorities

are crapping in their thobes as to solving the problem in light of Haj

starting soon so the pilgrims don't carry it back to their home countries.

Southern Thai Muslims are regular Haj participants.....theoretically

ebola could be here next month...something to think about.

And the bad news is?

[IAMHERE]

How many of these posters actually live, work and or have anything to do with this targeted beach area???? If nothing.... the shut the f#%&@ up and let the authorities finish the job their way which could include various media releases as an investigative tool. If some of you poster mouth pieces don't even live in LOS then you just mind your own d@#% business where you live.

TAT worker ?

[waynethor]

wow i am new here,...but i must say,almost all of these posts are way out of line, you whine, complain,demand,cry,& whine & whine, scheeeze give it a break.if you truly do not like it "here" take your old cheap boney ass elsewhere.there are pleanty of third world countrys full of skank bar girls that would love you long time :-) these murders on the beach are so very sad, you should be in the corner of the police.they not the "YARD", "FBI" or "CSI OF NYC", this is thailand,have you forgotten? also,the parents of these young people check this blog many times each day. they should have to read the stupid rants of a tired old fart? do not hurt them any further. jonclark has the only post that made sense to me :-)

Ya, I'm pretty new here too, but I've already seen that type of statement before many times that basically says if you don't approve of everything here and want to discuss or criticize it you should leave the country. It seems like most people have caught on that just because someone criticizes doesn't mean that they spit on the place in disgust. Fortunately, the type of statement like you made is not showing up much any more because I suppose people are catching on that criticizing and making comments that say perhaps there is some room for improvement is good and normal.

You'll see a lot of discussion about things people don't like or agree with in Thailand, so you've had warning and shouldn't whine about it every time it happens. If you don't like it 'here' at this forum, maybe you should think about taking your own ------- ass and finding another forum.

[MediaWatcher]

terryp, on 22 Sept 2014 - 06:58, said:

TAT obviously dont read or listen to the World OUTSIDE of thailand ......idiots to say the least

They only listen to the voices inside their own heads. For some strange reason they believe the outside world believes everything coming from a Thai mouth.

[draftvader]

How many of these posters actually live, work and or have anything to do with this targeted beach area???? If nothing.... the shut the f#%&@ up and let the authorities finish the job their way which could include various media releases as an investigative tool. If some of you poster mouth pieces don't even live in LOS then you just mind your own d@#% business where you live.

Incisive, helpful and very friendly. Thank you for your input. Seeing that you are located in Vancouver I guess you are sitting there, right now, with a mirror shouting at yourself to mind your own business. It must be an absolute delight to be in your company.

Many of us do live & work in Thailand and have done for many years. If you are to do that outside the tourist areas and thrive you do have to develop an understanding of the workings of the local law enforcement as it is nearly impossible not to have dealings with them in some way (for a start we all say "Hi" to a policeman periodically as part of our visa requirement).

The handling of this investigation has been, so far, completely unsurprising. The opportunity to solve this simply, quickly and effectively was lost in the first hour. Most western police forces with an opportunity to seal up a crime scene and contain 99% of the potential criminals would have jumped on the opportunity. Unfortunately that is not the way around here and working out who you might upset if you pointed the finger in the right direction was the first objective. Only now, that people from MUCH higher have decided that this DOES need a result, have the appropriate actions happened. It will never be clear whether the criminals were known immediately or not as now it is a case of back-peddling and covering up your own tracks. EVERYBODY is in this for themselves. There are opportunities in this for people and they are just trying to work out what they are and how they can best exploit them (hence the rapid opening of mouths without any substance coming out).

[Pundi6446]

Thai tourism already has some hang up problems, if they don't actually solve this case, and hang the bastards who did it, the tourism will go downhill even more, people already feeling like Thailand is not a safe place to vacation to, with topics like high rape cases, unsolved, many International gangs working here to fleece the unsuspecting tourist, drugs, drugs, drugs everywhere, now vicious couples murder, goes unsolved on beautiful Koh Tao tourist haven.

Thailand better solve this case, and for real, not just getting some dumb pasties to plead guilty to something and do a couple years in prison, then getting paid off for the copping of crime.

Solve this crime, maybe save tourism, don't solve it, well you see what I am talking about here!!!

[allan michaud]

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Especially if it turns out a Brit solved it when they couldn't

Again, see Kirsty Jones.

A most bizarre statement from TAT. I can only assume that was for the benefit of any Thai's that might be listening. They seem to be ignoring the scary numbers being read around the world by potential visitors to Thailand. 22 tourists murdered so far this year. 389 Brits dead in a year. Brit deaths and hospitalistions jump a startling 31% in a year. Other as yet solved cases like the more than decade old Kirsty Jones murder are also being brought up in the international media. The list goes on. I guarantee some potential tourists will be scared off by these stats, more than by this particular gruesome double murder.

[Thai at Heart]

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Especially if it turns out a Brit solved it when they couldn't

Again, see Kirsty Jones.

A most bizarre statement from TAT. I can only assume that was for the benefit of any Thai's that might be listening. They seem to be ignoring the scary numbers being read around the world by potential visitors to Thailand. 22 tourists murdered so far this year. 389 Brits dead in a year. Brit deaths and hospitalistions jump a startling 31% in a year. Other as yet solved cases like the more than decade old Kirsty Jones murder are also being brought up in the international media. The list goes on. I guarantee some potential tourists will be scared off by these stats, more than by this particular gruesome double murder.

Since the figures are.dropping and they need to attract people, these types of stories are very detrimental.

They have to make people choose to come to Thailand. There are many other destinations.

[MikePhuket1970]

MESSAGE TO TAT and their admirers

Just be honest and tell what the foreigners has to expect when they arrive to Thailand:

Many people here in this forum and in the world not understand the role of a foreigner (farang)

in this country.

We(foreigners-farangs) are not guests in this country,we are customers

from the arrival stamp till the departure stamp.

So dont start whining when the thais not like or care us,They really don´t like us at all.

If you expect to get true and honest treatment as a friend or a good guest

you are in the wrong country.

Even every single smile in this country is faked and based only on financial interests.

Be a good customer and shut up ;-)

[chotthee]

Thai tourism already has some hang up problems, if they don't actually solve this case, and hang the bastards who did it, the tourism will go downhill even more, people already feeling like Thailand is not a safe place to vacation to, with topics like high rape cases, unsolved, many International gangs working here to fleece the unsuspecting tourist, drugs, drugs, drugs everywhere, now vicious couples murder, goes unsolved on beautiful Koh Tao tourist haven.

Thailand better solve this case, and for real, not just getting some dumb pasties to plead guilty to something and do a couple years in prison, then getting paid off for the copping of crime.

Solve this crime, maybe save tourism, don't solve it, well you see what I am talking about here!!!

Thai police don't even know where the blue diamond has gone.

You expect them to close these 2 murder cases?

[Halion]

TAT either needs to be dissolved or they need to hire a new PR head. The drivel and nonsense that comes with nearly every statement is unsubstantiated puerile and pathetic propaganda at best.

[waynethor]

Thai tourism already has some hang up problems, if they don't actually solve this case, and hang the bastards who did it, the tourism will go downhill even more, people already feeling like Thailand is not a safe place to vacation to, with topics like high rape cases, unsolved, many International gangs working here to fleece the unsuspecting tourist, drugs, drugs, drugs everywhere, now vicious couples murder, goes unsolved on beautiful Koh Tao tourist haven.

Thailand better solve this case, and for real, not just getting some dumb pasties to plead guilty to something and do a couple years in prison, then getting paid off for the copping of crime.

Solve this crime, maybe save tourism, don't solve it, well you see what I am talking about here!!!

It will be "solved" eventually, but I'm afraid that many people will not believe that they've got the actual murderer. The police and government have shown the high level of their desperation to get this wrapped up and had better be able to offer the public some rock-solid proof. The problem is, I don't know if any "proof" will be believable because it can all be tampered with and false confessions obtained through force or payment.

If they had taken a professional approach to the investigation and done things like preventing travel to and from the island right away instead of putting most of their resources into trying to prove it was one of the Brits, they could maybe have credibility, but as it stands, most people are pretty certain that the murderers are long gone.

[sunshine51]

All Thailand needs now is ebola to catch on... then I would love to see how the TAT handle that.

TAT's statement clearly defines what it thinks of the murders... an inconvenience to tourism

Oddly enough the Haj pilgrimmage to Mecca starts on Oct. 5.

Ebola has reared it's ugly head in Saudi to more than the 2 deaths

reported on the BBC a couple weeks ago. The Saudi health authorities

are crapping in their thobes as to solving the problem in light of Haj

starting soon so the pilgrims don't carry it back to their home countries.

Southern Thai Muslims are regular Haj participants.....theoretically

ebola could be here next month...something to think about.

And the bad news is?

If ebola ever appears in LOS then TAT will most likely blame us farang for it.

On a serious note...where the ebola epidemic is in W. Africa...there are fairly

large Muslim populations and many will desire to do the Haj this year....ebola

takes around 9-21 days after infection to manifest itself in humans...then it

all just gets exponentially silly in a horiffic way....that's the bad news.

My sources: CDC in the US & the W.H.O.

[Emster23]

"Thailand was doing the utmost in bringing the culprits to justice." Sorry LOS, those of us from real world have different view of what "utmost" means. Seems they were doing utmost to avoid investigating any Thai citizen involvement until the trail grew cold and perps had time to flee. Testing women's DNA to see if match semen? I know there is not much sex ed here, but.....

[sunshine51]

Thai tourism already has some hang up problems, if they don't actually solve this case, and hang the bastards who did it, the tourism will go downhill even more, people already feeling like Thailand is not a safe place to vacation to, with topics like high rape cases, unsolved, many International gangs working here to fleece the unsuspecting tourist, drugs, drugs, drugs everywhere, now vicious couples murder, goes unsolved on beautiful Koh Tao tourist haven.

Thailand better solve this case, and for real, not just getting some dumb pasties to plead guilty to something and do a couple years in prison, then getting paid off for the copping of crime.

Solve this crime, maybe save tourism, don't solve it, well you see what I am talking about here!!!

It will be "solved" eventually, but I'm afraid that many people will not believe that they've got the actual murderer. The police and government have shown the high level of their desperation to get this wrapped up and had better be able to offer the public some rock-solid proof. The problem is, I don't know if any "proof" will be believable because it can all be tampered with and false confessions obtained through force or payment.

If they had taken a professional approach to the investigation and done things like preventing travel to and from the island right away instead of putting most of their resources into trying to prove it was one of the Brits, they could maybe have credibility, but as it stands, most people are pretty certain that the murderers are long gone.

Just outta curiosity...Do RTP know the time of death from forensics? Forget when the bodies were discovered,

the time of death from forensics is a crucial piece of evidence. Next...What time did the RTP supposedly "seal off"

the island? This is also crucial. Not being a cop I would say that if more than 30 minutes between ToD & island

lock down had transpired....the perp or perps could be anywhere.