All Talk, no action. If the minister is serious, she would have ordered the closure of the OK bar in Chiang Mai in which the Dutch guy was bashed and the Malaysians were ripped off. Has she done that? Of course not ...because it's probably owned by some sleazebag hiso or wealthy creep. This govt is no more serious about ending scams than the last one or the one before that.

"Meanwhile, over the weekend, a troupe of Malaysian tourists in Chiang Mai posted a complaint on social media saying they were given a bill of Bt150,000 for a four-hour karaoke session.

The Consumer Protection Board stepped in to help deal with the problem and brought the bill down to about Bt40,000. The ministry has been trying to protect tourists from scam artists," Kobkarn said."

That's not solving the problem at all. They were still scammed, albeit for a lesser amount.

They should not have had to pay anything like that.

And what the hell is a "troupe" of tourists?

Luckily I live here long enough and my Thai is at least good enough to get around and make scammers back-off quickly in most (though not all) cases , but sad to say I consider Thailand now the world's SCAM HOTSPOT number 1 ( with neighboring Cambodia winning the runners-up title). And as I am involved in tourism and hospitality business and have been to 4 continents and numerous countries in the past 18 months, dare I say I can judge it somehow.....

the problem is, once you cut one arm of the giant Octopus of greedyness, two new arms will quickly grow out of it to fill the gap.....

All Talk, no action. If the minister is serious, she would have ordered the closure of the OK bar in Chiang Mai in which the Dutch guy was bashed and the Malaysians were ripped off. Has she done that? Of course not ...because it's probably owned by some sleazebag hiso or wealthy creep. This govt is no more serious about ending scams than the last one or the one before that.

my guess would be it is owned by a senior cop and or local red mafia thug

LOS.

Land Of Scams.

Here is a plug for Thai Visa. There should be warnings on its home page about the scams,not just in forums. What is disgraceful is there is no warnings on most consulates websites regarding this!

Damn foreigners. If they didn't complain then we wouldn't have these problems. Don't they understand Thainess? It's our country and you must accept that this is the way it is here. Curse you foreigners.

Damn posters who can't read. This is exactly the opposite of what the report actually said...

"Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said yesterday that she acknowledged all the problems and promised to deal with the issues."

Did anyone notice how this article conveniently omits any mention of the police shakedowns along Sukhumvit where other scam artists (yes I do mean the RTP) have been causing Thailand's tourism to take a hit. Wonder why this was not highlighted in the article? Is it because Thailand has no solution for cops gone crazy?

"Wonder why this was not highlighted in the article? Is it because Thailand has no solution for cops gone crazy?"

No, it's because that was stopped and hasn't been reported again for several weeks, apart from ThaiVisa dragging up an old report yesterday and re-posting it.

And in its latest report TAT has banned the rogue taxi driver from the airport and helped the karaoke singer by reducing his bill by 110.000 baht. Meaning he paid just 10.000 baht an hour to enjoy himself.

TAT have said that by taking these measures they expect arrivals to increase by 42% over the next 4 months.

Damn foreigners. If they didn't complain then we wouldn't have these problems. Don't they understand Thainess? It's our country and you must accept that this is the way it is here. Curse you foreigners.

Damn posters who can't read. This is exactly the opposite of what the report actually said...

"Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said yesterday that she acknowledged all the problems and promised to deal with the issues."

Yeah, but she also said this

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/774310-foreign-tourists-can-be-assured-of-safety-in-thailand-says-kobkarn/

Which is pretty much the opposite as well.

One must decipher fact from fantasy, fantasy is the picture TAT wants to paint as Thailand the HUB of tourism and the fact is , tourists have been getting taken for a ride at nearly every turn in the tourist market for the last 3 Decades, sadly TAT would be one of the few departments that don't monitor TV or this would have been rectified long ago.

A four hour Karaokr session at bt150,000 and the Consumer Protection Board helped deal with the problem by getting the bill down to bt40,000. Was all of Malaysia at this Karaoke session.

In Singapore you can report over charging and action will be taken immediately. Contact numbers are publicly displayed .

Singapore protects the tourists.

Thailand has nothing but contempt for tourists, they think foreigners are fools who are easily ripped off and shouldnt complain but go home.

The karaoke bar incident and aftermath would never happen in Singapore. The owner could lose his/her business.

Nothing will change here. jet ski scams,gem stone scams,bar druggings, hotel druggings, unreported homicides,bar pick pockets,refusing to give customers their change( stupid gogo bars), taxi & songtaow rippoffs ,charging people to use the beach, police harrassment, fake cops or tasserkit extorting money out of tourists, insane prices for hotel food , fake consumer goods, total disregard for public safety exp footpaths which are falling to pieces in BKK, polluted beaches,.......the list is endless.

Illegal beer bars and gogo bars. Why hasnt PM/Gen Prayuth closed all those hooker kiosks? He's not serious. No Thais are.

Filthy soi dogs have more legal rights than foreigners and thats a fact. Kill a soi dog and see where you end up. A Thai kills a farang human.........who cares?

i work here and speak Thai but i would never have a holiday in this unhinged country.

"The Consumer Protection Board stepped in to help deal with the problem and brought the bill down to about Bt40,000" good work.

Tourists will be back any minute now.

In Singapore you can report over charging and action will be taken immediately. Contact numbers are publicly displayed .

Singapore protects the tourists.

Thailand has nothing but contempt for tourists, they think foreigners are fools who are easily ripped off and shouldnt complain but go home.

The karaoke bar incident and aftermath would never happen in Singapore. The owner could lose his/her business.

Nothing will change here. jet ski scams,gem stone scams,bar druggings, hotel druggings, unreported homicides,bar pick pockets,refusing to give customers their change( stupid gogo bars), taxi & songtaow rippoffs ,charging people to use the beach, police harrassment, fake cops or tasserkit extorting money out of tourists, insane prices for hotel food , fake consumer goods, total disregard for public safety exp footpaths which are falling to pieces in BKK, polluted beaches,.......the list is endless.

Illegal beer bars and gogo bars. Why hasnt PM/Gen Prayuth closed all those hooker kiosks? He's not serious. No Thais are.

Filthy soi dogs have more legal rights than foreigners and thats a fact. Kill a soi dog and see where you end up. A Thai kills a farang human.........who cares?

i work here and speak Thai but i would never have a holiday in this unhinged country.

Good rant

Got to love they lowered the bill to 40,000 baht when you can rent an entire machine for 25.00 USD for 25 hours.

A four hour Karaokr session at bt150,000 and the Consumer Protection Board helped deal with the problem by getting the bill down to bt40,000. Was all of Malaysia at this Karaoke session.

that would be about 250 beers even in an expensive place.

We are only guests in this most welcoming country. If we do not want to be scammed or attacked with bottles and/or machetes, there is a plane leaving every hour.

So please, allow yourself to be scammed or go home to your home country.

So did I read that right, the cab fare problem has been fixed ? Maybe they need to check the dates on the complaint forms.

Not fixed, 'eased'. Whatever that means.

gr eased

The karaoke bar incident and aftermath would never happen in Singapore. The owner could lose his/her business.

The bar in Chiang Mai didn't even have a license to operate in the first place. So in theory, there is nothing to lose, only wheels to grease.

Everyone in CM knows of this bar and the others around it. They are on a main road and impossible to miss. When important people come into town they usually come this route and the police will block the road, and the bars will close for the time being with all the girls hiding inside and their lights off. The parade of cars drive by and when the police leave, it's game on. The people in the parade never have to see such things, thus they don't exist.

We are only guests in this most welcoming country. If we do not want to be scammed or attacked with bottles and/or machetes, there is a plane leaving every hour.

So please, allow yourself to be scammed or go home to your home country.

Is it only to include scams or can we include being hit over the head with a hoe as well................just so we know where w e all stand?

Thailand truly deserves its bad image.

The RTP are about 80% to blame.

What keeps the Junta from a systemic reform of this rotten force? Is it the fact that the Thai Army, Navy, and Airforce combined ain't got the guts? Thats my bet!

I hope regional competitors take note. The combined Army, Navy, and Airforce ain't got guts

Well, lets buy a few submarines tanks and jet fighters to solve this fundamental problem!

We are only guests in this most welcoming country. If we do not want to be scammed or attacked with bottles and/or machetes, there is a plane leaving every hour.

So please, allow yourself to be scammed or go home to your home country.

Is it only to include scams or can we include being hit over the head with a hoe as well................just so we know where w e all stand?

It is rude to attack tourists with garden a garden hoe. However, a hoe can attack a tourist.

Either way, we should take it and be thankful they allow us to spend money here.

To sinlge out "scams" as the only factor affecting tourism just really fgoes to show how incompetant the authorities are at tackling these problems.....how's about...

untrammelled development

no planning

No infrastructure

Encroachment and destruction of natural resources

Murders

Gun violence

Corrupt police

Corrupt taxis

Corrupt politicians

Corrupt hoteliers

local Mafias

Poor customer service

polluted seas

Damaged corals

Dirty beaches

Exploitative sex industry

Abuse of animals

Ivory Trade

Stray dogs

Complicated and unsympathetic visa systems

unwelcoming staff

stop and search

Military coups

Martial law

freedom of the press

comments on bikinis by the PM

2-tier pricing

Dangerous public transport

Road safety

accountability

surcharges on ATMs.....

get the picture?

Scam Thainess artists destroying image of Thai tourism

This is of their own making and the price will have to be paid sooner or later ... the price will ultimately bring about the end of tourism in Thailand.

The scams, or rather Thainess, could be addressed like all the other problems ... could be and would be are two different things and anyone who knows Thailand will accept that 'would be' is not an option.

The chickens always come home to roost.

And thanks to social media, such things are in the spotlight instantly and on a global scale.

Thailand has two choices:

a) Blabbing at the mouth as they usually do with no action. Tourism numbers will dwindle and the industry will take a serious beating, as will the reputation of the country.

Take action and clean the place up once and for all, reclaiming the country as an awesome tourist destination.

I was living in Colombia during much of its rough times and tourism was almost non-existent due to the violence and threat of violence. I could go weeks sometimes without seeing another gringo. Now... tourism is booming. They put a lot of effort into making it a safer place and it is working. Like all tourist locations, it is not without a few scams, but nothing compared to Thailand. Scams are waiting for tourists in Thailand at every corner, starting at the airport and ending at the airport. It is really sad. In the end, if they don't clean up this mess, the Thais will have no one to blame but themselves. However, they will still blame someone else, as taking responsibility for their own actions, or lack thereof, isn't part of the Thainess play book.

total disgrace!

Thailand the only country in the world with scams and scam artists.

The ministry has been trying to protect tourists from scam artists

Good luck with that. The above is not even the tip of the iceberg.

Sure that wasn't a typo?

"The ministry has been trying to protect from tourists bothering scam artists."

Did anyone notice how this article conveniently omits any mention of the police shakedowns along Sukhumvit where other scam artists (yes I do mean the RTP) have been causing Thailand's tourism to take a hit. Wonder why this was not highlighted in the article? Is it because Thailand has no solution for cops gone crazy?

And the cigarette "police" who only shake down foreigners.

Businesses that overcharge and have the cops on their side to back up their criminality.

The "shoplifting" scam in the airside of Sumerabhumi where they used the police to detain foreigners illegally for days until they or their families had paid up.

The jet-ski folks who claim that the equipment was broken by the foreigner user and use the local cops to back up their extortion.

And of course the upstairs places in Patpong where all sorts of scams are going on and they use the cops to back up their criminality.

Not to mention all the places where criminal enterprises have been doing business for decades and continue to do so because of the huge amount of money handed to the police.

One even hears that to become a police officer, you now have to pay huge amounts of money because of the large amounts of revenue a police officer can expect to gain during his years of "service."

Perhaps it is time to call time on the biggest scam organisation of all, the RTP

The only Scams the thai government seems serious about stopping are the scams done by the nigerians against thai woman.

Only these scams have their attention.

farangs loosing their money to all the Thai scammers is a well accepted common daily practice and a non issue..