Thai beach clean-up campaign a success, but can the results be sustained?

[webfact]

MID-YEAR REPORT
Beach clean-up campaign a success, but can the results be sustained?
Achara Deboonme,
Suchat Sritama
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Small shops, umbrellas and chairs are now things of the past at major beaches across the nation, thanks to the junta's clean-up campaign.

Uncertainties remain, though. Once the military-led campaign is over, will the vicious cycle that has been plaguing beach tourism for years return?

"Without the military? Everybody expects things to be [back to] the same again, though it won't be 100 per cent the same," said Sanpech Supabowornsthian, president of the Thai Hotels Association's Eastern Chapter.

Based mainly in Pattaya, he has witnessed the serious efforts at cleaning things up among the private sector. The 2.9-kilometre beach has been cleaner since the campaign started in January, with help from people of all ages and from all walks of life.

As they are required to register and come clean on their business, vendors have agreed to give up some of their street stalls.

Now, every Wednesday, no vendor is seen on the beach, leaving it entirely to tourists. On the other days, shops can open only on specified parts of the beach, leaving other zones free.

The number of business blocks has been reduced to 269, run by 120 operators. These operators are allowed to put their chairs on an overall space encompassing only 1.16km, or 38 per cent of the beach's length.

According to Sanpech, business operators are now calling on their peers to cooperate in the campaign.

He is also convinced that growing pressure from the media will ensure that the past mess will not return to haunt the resort-city again.

Pattaya is one of the main target areas, along with Phuket and Prachuap Khiri Khan, which are all popular destinations among local and foreign visitors.

The situation is the same in Hua Hin. In March, all stalls were cleared, leaving the beach uncluttered from the Centara Grand Hua Hin to Khao Takieb.

According to Krisada Tansakul, president of the Thai Hotels Association's Southern Chapter, which covers Phuket, all 14 beaches in the resort-island can again boast their true beauty and have brought back pride to the locals, something that had failed to be achieved over the past 10 years.

Phuket was the first destination falling under the junta's campaign, which aims also to clear resorts of illegal businesses that have hurt the tourism industry. Unregistered taxis and public vehicles are covered by this aspect of the campaign.

One-stop centres

Under the campaign, only 10 per cent of each of Phuket's beaches can be taken up by businesses, yet the space is being used to locate one-stop service centres, where massage service, food and drink, and water-activity information are provided under one roof.

"All operators are not allowed to hunt for customers on the beach, while tourists are advised to get services from designated centres. Violators will be caught by the police," Krisada said.

Phuket has been a popular international tourist destination ever since Thai Airways International launched the first flights from Bangkok in 1981.

Within 10 years, the airport reached full capacity and Phuket had earned a reputation as "the fastest-growing resort in the Asean region". The 2004 tsunami, however, was a major hiccup in the growth.

Though the global financial crisis has more recently resulted in a drop in international visitors, Krisada is convinced that the island will achieve the 12-million visitor target this year, as the high season from October to March should be as busy as ever.

Phuket International Airport's expansion, scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, should also ensure more arrivals.

In the meantime, however, the average occupancy rate at hotels in Phuket dropped by 15 per cent in April from same month last year.

Krisada does not know whether the situation will revert to what it was in the past and cause further annoyance to all in the province, once the clean-up campaign is over.

But Phuket is gearing up to do its utmost to prevent it from falling into the same old vicious cycle, and The Prince of Songkla University has been assigned to conduct a study on sustainable approaches for the province, he said.

"We'll know [what paths can be taken] when the study is completed in July," he added.

Note: This article is part of The Nation's mid-year special, "A New Face of Thai Tourism", which will be distributed to all subscribers on June 30 to mark our 44th anniversary.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Beach-clean-up-campaign-a-success-but-can-the-resu-30262783.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-22

[cardinalblue]

I guess they don't mean the litter and garbage spewed everywhere....

CB

[Bluespunk]

"Within 10 years, the airport reached full capacity and Phuket had earned a reputation as "the fastest-growing resort in the Asean region". The 2004 tsunami, however, was a major hiccup in the growth."

Hiccup in growth?

For <deleted> sake! How crass can reporters get?

Edited June 21, 2015 by Bluespunk

[ChrisY1]

So Pattaya and Phuket have been cleaned up.........But...is it sustainable....will Thais respect the current regulations and keep the places as they now are???.........

Of course not......the money will soon start to flow to the right people and things will likely return as previously.

Nothing's sustainable in Thailand....!!.........

Except, cheating, lying, and corruption.

[FireMedic]

I guess they don't mean the litter and garbage spewed everywhere....

CB

I consider the two to be the same. Business/Mafia garbage is just as dirty as the literal garbage.

[oneday]

A campaign is useless if the next day you have trash coming from tourists and the filthy seas around Thailand washing it ashore.

The only way it will be a success is if each and every beach city hires full-time workers to patrol the beaches each and every day cleaning them up.

[robertthebruce]

Where does Jet Skis fit into this ??????

[Patong2]

Phuket's Patong Beach is not cleaned up.

There were more Jet Ski's than tourists on the beach when I rode past a few days ago.

The beach is full of litter

[geriatrickid]

I question the integrity of the author. Patong beach is now a commercial enterprise with 50% of the space reserved for the jetski parasail businesses.

The situation is worse than before the coup. From Kata to Kalim, the tuk tuks, and rental companies have expropriated the public parking and monopolize the areas for their own benefit. Anyone who complains or tries to use the space returns to a vandalized vehicle and/or a beating.

Anyone up for a ride on a Hua Hin jet ski? You know, the noisy polluting machines that are not supposed to be at Hua Hin, and that are not supposed to be parked on the beach or refueled in the water. Anyone up for visiting a restaurant that according to the writer doesn't exist since all restaurants were removed from the public beaches?

How someone write absolute lies and think she can pass it off defies reason.

[geriatrickid]

Phuket's Patong Beach is not cleaned up.

There were more Jet Ski's than tourists on the beach when I rode past a few days ago.

The beach is full of litter

The last time I counted, I had 48 jetskis at Patong and 4 parasailing/garroting of beach walker operators.

[Emster23]

Dang, how did I miss the beaches are now clean? Here in Jomtien perhaps a tad cleaner due to current butchering of shade trees and tearing up of walkways. No tourists = no trash. More clever than I thought...

Brought to mind US Senator comment during Vietnam war: "Let's declare victory and go home".

[DrDave]

Phuket's Patong Beach is not cleaned up.

There were more Jet Ski's than tourists on the beach when I rode past a few days ago.

The beach is full of litter

The last time I counted, I had 48 jetskis at Patong and 4 parasailing/garroting of beach walker operators.

Yes, the jetskis are all out of the water, on the beach again (along with many of their trailers). There are also rental kayaks and surfboards on the beach.

The parasailing guys are getting even more aggressive. They were given specific areas in which they could operate (way too much area, in my opinion), but yesterday afternoon I noticed them moving the "no-go" signs to stake out new territories, telling all of the bathers and those on the beach to clear out of "their area".

The roving vendors have also made a comeback.

The only difference I see is that there are no longer any plastic loungers, as they've been replaced by ugly foam mats (at the same price as the old loungers) as well as some "zero-gravity" type metal chairs, and all are limited to specific areas. There are also massage concession tents that never existed before.

I'd say the same, if not more business is being conducted on the beach now as compared to before the "clean-up".

[Kees5555]

Jomtien Beach is dirtier than ever before on the places where beach chair vendors have left!
A lot of Thai people now sitting there, some leaving their bottles, plates, plastic bags after enjoying a day on the beach.

[optad]

Always smile wryly when visitors come to Australia and remark how clean it is. It does make everyone feel good no doubt about it.

I say 'wryly' above because cleaning a beach is a good thing but remedial if the practice of littering is not addressed. Thai people are proud of their Thainess. This needs some brand tweaking and the concept broadened... some pride in the environment is a natural extension.

The notion of leaving a plastic wrapper on a beach here is very foreign. And it has been an educational program since the late 70's or early 80's. Clean up Australia, January 26th everyone got out there and picked up litter. As a by process everyone stopped littering every other 364 days of the year. It stuck. That is what has to happen.

I accede that the dropping of litter in Asia does not carry the same asocial penalty as elsewhere but it should become normative to find other means of disposal. That is not remedial and the start of a program.

Edited June 22, 2015 by optad

[The Beguiled]

A "Clean Up Thailand" education campaign is need here in Thailand and aimed at the Thai people who seem not to care about their environment.

You can see it "day in & day out"; "here. there and everywhere", from "the cities to the country".

Why?

Only last month I took a drive of 4,200 klms through many provinces from Bueng Kan to Chiang Mai to Hua Hin to Pattaya and back and every day, everywhere there was rubbish along the roads, the beaches, the city paths, etc.

Again why do Thai's care so little?

[ddavidovsky]

As to litter - presumably people don't mind littering because they assume it will get swept up. Gangs of roadsweepers are a common sight everywhere - sometimes they are just going through the motions because there's nothing for them to sweep up. Thai cities don't seem to have a litter problem afaics - presumably because of all the sweepers.

Now, Cambodia - they have a litter problem. Battambang is appalling. Nothing gets cleaned up.

[lvr181]

"...but can the results be sustained?"

Where there is a will there is a way. Let’s see what happens.

Just don't hold your breath.

[optad]

A "Clean Up Thailand" education campaign is need here in Thailand and aimed at the Thai people who seem not to care about their environment.

You can see it "day in & day out"; "here. there and everywhere", from "the cities to the country".

Why?

Only last month I took a drive of 4,200 klms through many provinces from Bueng Kan to Chiang Mai to Hua Hin to Pattaya and back and every day, everywhere there was rubbish along the roads, the beaches, the city paths, etc.

Again why do Thai's care so little?

I think that is exactly the type of campaign they need and it is frankly within a cultural capacity to achieve... if positioned so!

You ask "Why do they care so little?" ... I think it is more that in Asia the culture has not been focused on this issue or the more cynically minded may suggest that their day to day lives suggest it is to hard or just latter. There is an aspect of job creation too, a plenitude of daily employment picking up urban waste the west just cannot afford which is managed. May also sponsor continuance of habit too. This may well be the future tipping point . I don't know.

India and china do not want to deal with CO2 emissions and coal as they say they are catching up to developed countries right to cheap energy. An impoverished argument but one they use forcefully. In the past, waste was collected nightly on the street so littering did not matter.

My point is that there are arguments to suggest new generations might deal differently with these issues if we empower them to do so. Pointing finger just does not win the debate or find solutions. Make kids want something different and it will happen. Just take thirty years but it will happen.

The thing about sustainability is that it is not about fixing problems. It is about not having problems reoccur. That needs to be the longer term objective.

[smutcakes]

Its a relative success at the moment, but of course the army can enforce it, the fact they still have the deck chairs on the beaches tethered to trees means they know it will blow over.

This is of course because any 'reform' is just short term enforcement measures, not getting to the route of the problems, which is the judiciary system predominantly and the police, and all those city hall officials and the big bosses behind them who wield the power.

Maybe the army should be looking at who controls Pattaya, Bang Lamung etc, and where a certain Kamnan is residing at the moment....

[DrTuner]

They cleaned Pattaya beach? Must've been on Friday, because on Saturday it was just about as dirty as it gets, at least from what I could see dodging the speedboat touts while trying to jump over the sinkholes left from the rains on beach road. Sea near the beach looked like a parking lot for boats and jetskis.

[Stargeezr]

I am not sure of the situation now, but Patong beach used to be run by Thai mafia.

I stopped there on my rental motorbike, and was asked to pay a parking fee.

I just drove off and parked up the road by a bar and walked back, but I was told by a few

other tourists, to not leave your motorcycle if you do not pay, or it could get

messed with. I have never been impressed by Patong beach after that

and spent my time at Kata or Karon beaches for the most part.

[CiaranO]

Jet skis ?????

[DrDave]

I am not sure of the situation now, but Patong beach used to be run by Thai mafia.

I stopped there on my rental motorbike, and was asked to pay a parking fee.

I just drove off and parked up the road by a bar and walked back, but I was told by a few

other tourists, to not leave your motorcycle if you do not pay, or it could get

messed with. I have never been impressed by Patong beach after that

and spent my time at Kata or Karon beaches for the most part.

Yes, in the past it was practically impossible to park your motorbike or car along the beachfront in Patong. The people who rent cars and motorbikes claimed exclusive use of the public parking spaces, and would harass (or try to charge) anyone who parked there.

Thankfully, this is one thing that's gotten better though. I'm not sure what happened, but now there's no problem with parking along the beach. All the rental people are still there, taking up the vast majority of the parking real estate, but the bike rental guys seem to have no problem with "sharing" these days. (Note that it's nearly impossible to park a car though, as the rental cars have pretty much monopolized all of the car spaces). I've often wondered what would happen if early one morning all the local expats would park their cars in the public parking spaces, leaving no room for the rental guys that day - kind of like a flash mob. Probably a lot of damaged sheet metal.

[dageurreotype]

Always smile wryly when visitors come to Australia and remark how clean it is. It does make everyone feel good no doubt about it.

I say 'wryly' above because cleaning a beach is a good thing but remedial if the practice of littering is not addressed. Thai people are proud of their Thainess. This needs some brand tweaking and the concept broadened... some pride in the environment is a natural extension.

The notion of leaving a plastic wrapper on a beach here is very foreign. And it has been an educational program since the late 70's or early 80's. Clean up Australia, January 26th everyone got out there and picked up litter. As a by process everyone stopped littering every other 364 days of the year. It stuck. That is what has to happen.

I accede that the dropping of litter in Asia does not carry the same asocial penalty as elsewhere but it should become normative to find other means of disposal. That is not remedial and the start of a program.

I agree with your advocating education as to littering as happened in the West 50 years ago. What confounds me walking around is that even the lowliest Thai abode takes great pride in their gardens, carefully tending their many plants and trees each day, but then go out and drop litter where they stand

[optad]

Always smile wryly when visitors come to Australia and remark how clean it is. It does make everyone feel good no doubt about it.

I say 'wryly' above because cleaning a beach is a good thing but remedial if the practice of littering is not addressed. Thai people are proud of their Thainess. This needs some brand tweaking and the concept broadened... some pride in the environment is a natural extension.

The notion of leaving a plastic wrapper on a beach here is very foreign. And it has been an educational program since the late 70's or early 80's. Clean up Australia, January 26th everyone got out there and picked up litter. As a by process everyone stopped littering every other 364 days of the year. It stuck. That is what has to happen.

I accede that the dropping of litter in Asia does not carry the same asocial penalty as elsewhere but it should become normative to find other means of disposal. That is not remedial and the start of a program.

I agree with your advocating education as to littering as happened in the West 50 years ago. What confounds me walking around is that even the lowliest Thai abode takes great pride in their gardens, carefully tending their many plants and trees each day, but then go out and drop litter where they stand

I hear your point.

Even back then when milk was delivered, the newspaper on the porch the rubbish was collected nightly, in various vessels by fit guys for whom you left a slab of beer or a healthy tip come Xmas.

Never happened in Asia. Their system has been different all along. Certainly some attitudinal problems too and i feel like an old uncle having to teach parenting. It sucks. Always about 'me'.

But there is more than the compare and contrast this forum offers with regards to solutions for these problems. Few posters here accommodate situational differences before suggesting rights and wrong from home. Yet, these same farangs live more comfortably here than at home.

Littering is an Asia wide problem. [Japan excepted]. Your measured example is testament to the simplicity they first achieved. Home. But a social corollary was never part of that achievement. Just a "that is mine" and move on.

Education is the only answer. I have seen families pile up shit at their backdoor in deference to doing something more constructive! And i see single parents at the poker machine venues here trying to waste what public subsidy is given to them here.

But when a commonality is created, a habitual practice everyone will follow. Put litter in the bin. Put teh bins in an area to be collected.

It is as dumb as improving the LCD but that is where education begins. LCD.