Phuket tour bus drivers protest, claim Chinese shyster company shanghais jobs

[Sam Jones]

“They have bought several tour buses to transport tourists from the airport, hotels and resorts to other businesses owned by Oddski, which include restaurants, jewellery stores, a show business and souvenir shops,” claimed Mr Chonnawee.

Go complain to TAT - Ms. Popcorn wanted this kind of tourists as they are big spenders, she said, as far as I remember - No sympathy here, if you are dying then die ...

[NamKangMan]

“They have bought several tour buses to transport tourists from the airport, hotels and resorts to other businesses owned by Oddski, which include restaurants, jewellery stores, a show business and souvenir shops,” claimed Mr Chonnawee.

Go complain to TAT - Ms. Popcorn wanted this kind of tourists as they are big spenders, she said, as far as I remember - No sympathy here, if you are dying then die ...

"if you are dying then die" - I would prefer to see those working in transport on Phuket "die" slowly.

Edited September 16, 2015 by NamKangMan

[elgordo38]

No further comment

Another example of Uberizing in Thailand. Its the new world order. Large corporate entities set up to steal jobs from the little working man. Big business is looking for little niche businesses to put out of business and profit. We are living in the new shareholder first world. Its just another brutal example of how the little hard working people are being marginalized and pushed aside. Little will be done here as the Chinese have set up their own Thai front men.

[elgordo38]

"They give away their bus services for free, or very cheap." - unlike yourselves, who pay big fees to belong to an "Association" or "Club" that allows you rip off customers.

"We are dying right now." - it's transport like yours that has killed the western tourist market on Phuket, with the majority of tourists to the island now package holiday Chinese tourists.

You are "dying" because you have basically killed off your own business. You reap what you sow.

I have zero sympathy for any transport operator complaining about the Chinese in their coach buses. It was always going to get to ths point.

Having driven Tour Buss's in NZ I saw the same thing happen with the chinese buying their own busses and closing out the local trade, only the big operators survive and they dont run Chinese.

We used to have to take tours to venues controlled by the tour guide and we were paid commission from shopping.

The local tourist shops got nothing, the local restuarants/hotels got Zippo.

The Chinese tourist themselves get scammed.

Many small tour bus companies that had been around for years went bust.

This is typical mafia chinese control of their tourists they hang out in any country where they have a foot in the door and take control of the dollar

I hope these bus operators are succsesful however I think the big buck man Chong wayne will ride the winning horse.

New Zealand has many transport options for the independent traveler, most Government regulated, Phuket does not.

The only way the majority of Chinese tourists can afford to come here is because transport is included in their package holiday.

Stop the coach buses for the Chinese, and the Chinese will stop coming to Phuket, just like the western market has, then where would Phuket be?

Up the Mekong river without a paddle?

[NamKangMan]

No further comment

Another example of Uberizing in Thailand. Its the new world order. Large corporate entities set up to steal jobs from the little working man. Big business is looking for little niche businesses to put out of business and profit. We are living in the new shareholder first world. Its just another brutal example of how the little hard working people are being marginalized and pushed aside. Little will be done here as the Chinese have set up their own Thai front men.

"Its just another brutal example of how the little hard working people are being marginalized and pushed aside." - so, the Phuket tuk-tuk and / taxi driver who owns 2 houses, 2 cars - one being European, and has 2 mia noi, has been "marginalized and pushed aside."

Edited September 16, 2015 by NamKangMan

[Inepto Cracy]

The truth is that all the Phuket buses carrying Chinese tourists have all been smashed up in accidents.Now there are no more Chinese wanting to even ride with a doped up Phuket bus driver. Sorry you drove into your own grave, now die slowly until it hurts.

[gandalf12]

That four letter word raises its head again "competition" (ok so it is more than 4 letters but you get the meaning)

[kiwikeith]

New Zealand has many transport options for the independent traveler, most Government regulated, Phuket does not.

The only way the majority of Chinese tourists can afford to come here is because transport is included in their package holiday.

Stop the coach buses for the Chinese, and the Chinese will stop coming to Phuket, just like the western market has, then where would Phuket be?

This is not about independent travelers, and nobody is talking about stopping the coach buses.

Well, I don't like them and think Phuket's road are not suitable for them, but that is a different discussion

"nobody is talking about stopping the coach buses" - I can't see how they can be stopped now. Even if these protesters got rid of the coach buses, they go broke anyway.

Do they really think the Chinese would pay their ridiculous fares?

The package holiday model mainly came about for the Russians and Chinese. I would suggest, because transport (the coach buses) was included in the package.

So, they arrive in a travel group, dine as a travel group, shop as a travel group, go to the beach as a travel group, and leave Phuket, as a travel group. I would hardly call this "independent travel" like westerners arriving and getting a "taxi" from the airport, tuk-tuks by day, and by night, and a taxi back to the airport.

I don't like the the coach buses on the roads here either, mainly because they are driven by a Thai, on the cheapest monthly salary the company could find, and he has around 50 people's lives in his hands, not including those lives traveling in the opposite direction.

That said, if the Chinese market is turned away from Phuket, due to witholding transport from them as well, where does that leave Phuket?

The Chinese are the main tourists coming to Phuket now, and they will stop coming if this mass transport is not included in their package holiday to Phuket.

The fares are not ridiculous, the chinese want control of all movement of their tours so they can take them to their shops , restuarants, hotels ect, they even line up tours outside free venues and charge them to go in.

One tour I drove down in rotorua I was asked to drive to a back St factory where the tour bought elpacca duvees and materres covers at exhorbatent rates after being sold a dumbie by the tour guide, I had to detour past local tour shops so they did not see them

Next day one of the tour was trying to beat the shirt out of the tour guide as he went for a walk that night and discovered his $2000 dollar elpacca duvee , same identical thing was selling for $900 all hell broke loose and the tour made the guide take them back to his special discounted factory shop.

I'm firmly on the Thai bus drivers side here.

At the end of a tour wnen dropping them at the airport the tour guide told them to hand over their envelopes to the drive and say thank you for very safe drive.

Inside usually was $100 US but now and again the filthy tour guide milked it and you only got 30 per person, all that tip monet now going into chinese piky pockety

The tips compensated our pathetic wages until the guides started milking our comissions, then suddenly we were gone, replaced by Chinese busses and drivers

[fstarbkk]

So the local mafia get out-mafia'd by the Chinese! My heart bleeds for them.

?

Edited September 17, 2015 by fstarbkk

[gk10002000]

well, this is why you need stable laws, and civilian courts, and civilian police to enforce them. File a suit, get a court order. Sorry, my western upbringing biases me

[stevenl]

So the local mafia get out-mafia'd by the Chinese! My heart bleeds for them.

What local mafia. We're talking tour buses here, not the Tuktuk cartels.

[fstarbkk]

So the local mafia get out-mafia'd by the Chinese! My heart bleeds for them.

What local mafia. We're talking tour buses here, not the Tuktuk cartels.

If you think that any aspect of the tourist industry in Phuket is much cleaner than the taxi business, you probably have never lived on that island for very long, or you just haven't paid attention to what goes on around you. Phuket is mobbed up from top to bottom.

[stevenl]

So the local mafia get out-mafia'd by the Chinese! My heart bleeds for them.

What local mafia. We're talking tour buses here, not the Tuktuk cartels.

If you think that any aspect of the tourist industry in Phuket is much cleaner than the taxi business, you probably have never lived on that island for very long, or you just haven't paid attention to what goes on around you. Phuket is mobbed up from top to bottom.

I have lived here for 15+ years now, all the time active in the tourism industry.

I know exactly what is happening in the tourism industry here, in stark contrast to many other posters here.

So what is your experience with the Phuket tourism industry?

Edited September 17, 2015 by stevenl

[steelepulse]

I know we're venturing off topic, but let's just say if you're a newcomer with no big connections and you try to get into any sort of business that the local "associations" or groups deem to be theirs, you're in for trouble. No way some outsider from BKK can come down and decide he can run a bus service, a private taxi service, or a boat service without repercussions If that's not "mafia" I don't know what you would call it, but there certainly isn't a free market to operate in in this sector.