Opinion: Aggressive behavior tarnishes Phuket tourism

[callaway]

Tarnishes the image? If something is already black how can you possibly see the tarnishing?

[mikebell]

I've been to Phuket twice. Could not afford the travel costs. Will never go there again until it adopts Pattaya public transport system.

[FBlue72]

Just another reason to never go to Phuket. But I wish to add one thing. People come here to get away from nanny states but when something like this happens suggest the nanny state rules and procedures to stop it. Maybe some of these guys should make up their mind do they want to live in a nanny state or not. Thailand is known for being lawless accept it.

Yet the jails are full, overflowing even.

[FBlue72]

Wouldnt think of going to Phuket unless it was in a nightmare. Went 25 years ago and it was ok but not it seems to be filled with the scum of humanity

Just stay completely away from Patong and the whore mongering crowd with their hyped up testosterone . Come up to the Thalang beaches, Surin, Mai Khao. Bang Tao is an incredible beach, 8 kilometers of it with the northern end still very natural. ( until the new beach/noise club opens )

[espinoza]

Just another reason to never go to Phuket. But I wish to add one thing. People come here to get away from nanny states but when something like this happens suggest the nanny state rules and procedures to stop it. Maybe some of these guys should make up their mind do they want to live in a nanny state or not. Thailand is known for being lawless accept it.

Calling the police to trespass and evict an 86'd bar patron is living in a nanny state? Thailand is only lawless in the eyes of the PTP.

Went back and read the op and couldnot find the part about police trespass and 86'd bar patron and to be honest donot know what they have to do with this topic. What is a 86"d patron since I donot know and was never mentioned till you mentioned it. As far as lawless, that was the consensus long before PTP came into being.So in my opinion is just a fabrication on your part.

What does PTP mean? Peua Thai Party?????

[Bangkok Barry]

The problem is that many of these owners and managers who are non Thai have no work permits nor proper long term Visa's and have to depend on Thai security to do the job they should be doing themselves.

Really? Proof? Examples? Or are you just talking bullsh*t.

[dageurreotype]

Wouldnt think of going to Phuket unless it was in a nightmare. Went 25 years ago and it was ok but not it seems to be filled with the scum of humanity

And yet 25 years on and you're still perusing the Phuket forum

Edited October 19, 2015 by dageurreotype

[dageurreotype]

Still love some parts of Phuket,but at the moment Im having a break from it.The aggresive behaviour from the above mentioned things Im used to,but what I discovered during my last visits there was an increasingly greedy behaviour from almost every part of the service industry shops,resturants,bars and yes,transport.Combined with the massive influx of mass tourism it became an major for me to take a break.

"massive influx of mass tourism"

Really ?

Yes, really, it's true. "Massive influx" of Chinese "zero baht tourists."

Basically, the tourist numbers are up, but the money revenue from these tourists is down, way down, across the whole island.

So, the question is, better to have many tourists who spend very little, or fewer tourists who spend a lot?

Unfortunately for Phuket, the "fewer tourists" with the money, no longer come here in the numbers that we are previously used to seeing, and in my opinion, that's because Phuket no longer offers a value for money, safe and pleasant holiday.

Not to mention the expats that keep leaving.

I came to Phuket when it was still beautiful. I still like the fact everything is available here, apart from the sanity of a public transport system. I don't count the hourly chicken buses that stop at 5 pm on this, er, International Holiday Destination. I live in a quiet area and never visit the tourist targeted areas of Kata Karon or Patong, even Nai Harn and Rawai's ruined now. Ugly overbuilding everywhere. But the biggest gripe I have with these areas is that they most certainly do not represent value for money. There are those who will argue it's still cheap. It's not and the price of very low quality is putting people off coming here. It's ridiculously expensive, 2 GPB for a warm orange juice at a beach shack is something I am not willing to pay.

Luckily I have always been fond of Phuket Town and Thalang Road is equivalent IMO to George Town in Penang now. However, no nightlife I'd be interested in, but that goes for the rest of Thailand also. You're right about the number of expats leaving, every other week I see another neighbour gone.