Thailand mulls ID wristbands, curfews for tourists

[joebrown]

Someone, somewhere, (probablty TAT) described Thailand as a "paradise" for tourists. After reading these latest knee-jerk inane ideas, I can only conclude Thailand is becoming a PARADISE LOST no matter no matter where you look.

[Maestro]

Is this just a Malaysian newspaper trying to spread dirt about Thailand? Is there any Thai news report on this?

Click through to the article in the OP and you will see that it was a Reuters news wire.

[laobali]

Is this some sort of satirical piece? If not it contains some of the most ridiculous, idiotic and incomprehensibly out of touch with the real world thinking I've seen in many a year.

Bless them, for they know not what they do.

[weegee]

So all tourist will be tagged once they enter thailand?

They way they are going with this...they wont need too many tags...there will be no tourists.

[Gettingaround]

First I checked the calendar. No. It's not April 1st. That leaves insanity, alcohol abuse, crack and crystal meth. Take your pick.

[Ve37]

"Almost three weeks after the murder police are no closer to an arrest as frustration mounts over the lack of a breakthrough."

Last week they said the case was 85% complete.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/763792-koh-tao-murder-probe-85-complete-panya/page-7

Guess that pro-PDRC personnel are handling the case.

“Before martial law was declared, Gen Prayuth told me ‘Khun Suthep and your masses of PDRC supporters are too exhausted. It’s now the duty of the army to take over the task’, ” Mr Suthep said.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Ve37

[Pattaya28]

Another "hair-brain" idea that will increase tourism no-end

[dieseldave1951]

ha ha hold onto hat because if they can spend time thinking this one up there is bound to be more

wouldent it be better if these same people who have just thought this hare brained idea put the time they have just wasted into clearing the muggers,scammers, rapists,murderers and all the rest of the dross thats walking the street.

Tag the Thais who are known to be a problem

Dont treat tourists who come to this country like crimminals tagging indeed <deleted> stupid

these people whos cunjer up these stupid ideas just cant see what damage they are causing to thailand

first we have fenced of areas, now we have tagging and wrist bands ha ha ha please stop it !!!!!

head lines FULL MOON PARTY APPLY STALAG 13 KOH TAO (BRING YOUR OWN BODY GUARDS) ARMY

[jimbeam1]

Is this just a Malaysian newspaper trying to spread dirt about Thailand? Is there any Thai news report on this?

Has to be, either that or the bsstards are just setting up for the biggest pi55 take of all out of this most heinous of crimes. Wheres my hat? And I will slam the door on my way out.

jb1

[kotsak]

Apparently to speed up the process while being sent to the morgue. No need for an extra tag on the toe.

[dieseldave1951]

ha ha hold onto hat because if they can spend time thinking this one up there is bound to be more

wouldent it be better if these same people who have just thought this hare brained idea put the time they have just wasted into clearing the muggers,scammers, rapists,murderers and all the rest of the dross thats walking the street.

Tag the Thais who are known to be a problem

Dont treat tourists who come to this country like crimminals tagging indeed <deleted> stupid

these people whos cunjer up these stupid ideas just cant see what damage they are causing to thailand

first we have fenced of areas, now we have tagging and wrist bands ha ha ha please stop it !!!!!

head lines FULL MOON PARTY APPLY STALAG 13 KOH TAO (BRING YOUR OWN BODY GUARDS) ARMY

[Benmart]

Bizzare to say the least. What other place in the world does such a thing?

[OPG]

UNBELIEVABLY RIDICULOUS!!!

It should all start with a stable political system and the tackling of corruption to under cover programs to make sure they catch those corrupt authorities to having visible police monitoring areas by foot, bicycle or horse (tourist areas and party areas) etc...

There's so much more that must be done internally...they cannot provide safety to tourists by focusing on the tourist themselves! What they speak of will push the tourist away...not bring them back.

Why would I go to a country as a tourist where I must wear a wristband for my security?!

My eye's are wide open now and I don't like what I see.

Thank you Thailand for opening my eyes.

[JoeLing]

I can see the advertisements now:

Come to Thailand, the land of ASBO'S.

Land of ASBO'S?

I'm sure you meant HUB of ASBO's?

Wait - aren't we that already?

[jakobvarming]

Yep, Kwailand did it again!

It's like the bucket under the leaking urinal so often seen here.

Not fixing the actual problem, but dealing with the consequences.

[weaver93]

Would this ID tag,bracelet etc.. a faster way to 'fleece the farang'??

[digibum]

maybe a better idea to tag the police and mafia?

at least we will know what they are up to

Can you imagine the number of tags needed..???

Don't be too surprised if her cousin doesn't own a tag factory :-)

[Thaiready]

A good start would be to START POLICING

[jamiesilver]

Thailand needs to Mull improving its own resorts, politeness, infrastructure and education.
Foreigners travel the entire world, mexico, peru, brazil. we dont need tags there, so whats the problem?

perhaps, Thailand is the problem!

[GAZZPA]

If anyone ever needed a real world example of how much of a "bubble" Thailand lives in then this is it.,,,

Although pretty unbelievable to most people around the world and clearly an absurd idea it seems plausible to Thai authorities,, priceless..

[Fairynuff]

How to improve an already badly tarnished country's image!

[razer]

Well then ... Thailand realy is a dangerous place for tourists and police are incompitentent and lazy if not downright stupid.

No more talk .... find the murderers. Restore credibility to the government.

These murders are not going away inspite of all the Thai style (hot air) speeches. In the past the police got away with their shenanigans. Not this time. (I hope)

[whybother]

Is this just a Malaysian newspaper trying to spread dirt about Thailand? Is there any Thai news report on this?

Click through to the article in the OP and you will see that it was a Reuters news wire.

Yep. I've seen that since. It seems as though Reuters is the only one to have reported it. Everyone else has copied it off them, even the Bangkok Post.

[monkeycountry]

Seems to me it makes more sense to put an electronic tracking device on all Thais, as they are usually (not always) the ones committing the crimes against tourists (and fellow Thais). Most countries I know of prefer to track the criminals, not the victims

[keithcresswell]

Maybe tourists could also drop off their holiday money at the local police station to ensure it doesn't get lost.

[northernboy]

Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul I had assumed that this could be an improvement to the tourist shops and tour companies scheme issue flower pins so they know who gets the commission maybe we could computerize the whole thing. Where airlines issue a "tracking ap" smart on phones and the commission on tourist shop aright up to hospitals could be allocated to the hotel and Airlines that booked them to Thailand. That way all Thai people could more easily profit from purchases to muggings, even funeral costs. Because it will discourage tourists so we will have to maximize profit from the one that come. Sorry I think Khun Kobkarn has missed teh boat with this stupid Idea of scary waist bands and tourist minders(Guides). Has she ever traveled or worked in the travel industry? Or even talked with a non Thai tourist/

[webfact]

Thailand to give tourists 'safety' wristbands
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP |

Thailand on Tuesday announced plans to give tourists wristbands carrying their personal details, as the kingdom falls under intense scrutiny over visitor safety following the murder of two British holidaymakers.

Under the scheme hotels will distribute the wristbands to new arrivals.

"If anything happens to them we will then know their names, nationality and hotel," said Arnuparp Gaesornsuwan, director general of the Department of Tourism told AFP.

"We have discussed it with hotel operators and they are willing to do it," he said.

"We are not going into their personal information -- it's just the details they have to fill out on the immigration form already," he said.

Tourist police said the safety measure would be voluntary.

"In case they (tourists) get drunk and fall asleep on the beach we can bring them back to their hotels," Apichai Ti-armataya, commander of the Tourist Police told AFP.

He said the plan would be rolled out "soon" on popular resort islands such as Koh Tao and Koh Phangan and also the tourist beach area of Pattaya.

In addition to tagging tourists the Department of Tourism is keen to curb partying hours in visitor hotspots.

"Most of tourists are coming here for diving or to admire our nature -- not to party," Arnuparp said, adding new "zoning" curbs would likely control all-night bars and clubs.

Thailand's image as a tourist paradise has been badly damaged by the brutal murders of British holidaymakers David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23 earlier this month.

Their battered bodies were found on a beach on southern Koh Tao island more than two weeks ago, sparkling a manhunt that has appeared increasingly desperate with police so far failing to make an arrest.

That seemingly sluggish response was compounded by insensitive comments made by the coup-leading prime minister, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who was forced into a rare public apology after suggesting women wearing bikinis could be more vulnerable to attack.

Thailand's once-booming tourism industry is also scrambling to rebound from a slump in foreign visitor numbers after May's military coup and a night-time curfew tarnished its reputation as the "Land of Smiles".

The government has lowered its forecast for tourist arrivals this year to 25.9 million, down from an initial target of 28 million.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-09-30

[heyexile]

So all tourist will be tagged once they enter thailand?

They way they are going with this...they wont need too many tags...there will be no tourists.

If only. Tripadvisor still promoting Ko Tao and all of Thailand. Their Ko Tao forum still full of "be happy, don`t worry, it`s safe, go" posts but they are quick to remove cautionary posts and/or close thread.

International press no longer covering tragic case daily, reporters have moved on.

"All evil needs to flourish is for good men to do nothing."

[pjmansions]

Who comes up with these ideas surely a better way of keeping tourists safe is to have police out and about patrolling instead of setting up checkpoints

This will make tourists stand out and make them targets for every scammer for miles around

And the buddy system where you are paired with a local . hmmmm are none of these robberies assaults, rapes committed by local Thai people then ?

[oztaurus]

...and of course Thailand also already has the logistic infrastructure to produce, catalogue, track and recycle tens of millions of these electronic tracking devices from all its border posts so that there will be no embarrassing mistakes, no cases of confused identity, no lost GPS tracking bands, and the cost of all this will be handled in a transparent and efficient manner with no nepotism in awarding the contracts, no tea money and no bureaucratic waste; and ....oh look, a pretty butterfly ....