Russian man arrested off Phuket working as illegal tour guide

[fekman]

Happy group pic for sure!

[stevenl]

There are not enough Thais speaking Chinese

There are enough Thais speaking Chinese, and there are enough Thai tourguides speaking Chinese.

This is a load of crap ! My Thai partner has a degree in Mandarin Chinese, used it daily with her late father who came from China many years ago. And still is not able to get a job as a tourist guide, they have their own.

Which is what I said. There are enough Thai guides available.

[bigt3116]

3 'men' posing with a captured kid... if Thais would speak decent Russian, I could understand but so, it's just a farce.

I agree with you. No matter how illegal it is for a foreigner to work in Thailand without a permit, the collective mindset that such a pic conveys is despicable. What it says, loud and clear, about Thailand and the Thais is not something that will boost their image.

Knowing how eager this country claims to be when it comes to encouraging tourism, this is just another case of total schizophrenia.

Incidentally, I remember about 20 years ago in most European countries where tourism is a major 'industry', a clear difference was established legally between 'tour leader' and 'tour guide'. Foreigners were not allowed to guide but they could 'lead' a group around. This allowed for a certain amount of flexibility, especially with groups that spoke rare languages.

Group tourism, which admittedly is a mediocre form of tourism but does bring cash into local economies, requires such 'tour leaders' because humans in groups often tend to forget they have a brain of their own. The rule in Europe was that, when those groups visited a list of sites, they were required to hire a local guide in addition to their leader. Which is what the employer of this young Russian guy should have done, OK, but instead of arresting the guide, the cops should look further up the line. Mind you, they probably will, and guess what they will demand ...

What ?

[gk10002000]

I live in Jomtien Beach and see this every day, ..Russians promoting tours and acting as guides that before only Thai people were employed to do. If I did this, I would be in jail so fast my head would spin, but Russians have been doing this for ages with no consequences!

yeah. same in pattaya. heck go down walking street and ask those Russian ladies that are handing out fliers if they have work permits. I hated watching the signs in pattaya go more and more Russian over the years. Nothing against Russians, but just a general objection to anybody coming in and taking over a foreign place. You want to cater to people from your own country? Nothing wrong with that. But you can't just bring in people and start using them as tour guides. Got to suck it up, pay the visas, work permit fees, etc. I mean there were store fronts with signs only in Russian. No Thai, no English.

[simon43]

I like this photo -

The scowling and serious faces of the immigration/police guys, and then the fresh face of the young Russian guy, with just a hint of a little smile, as if to say 'Well, you got me there guys, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it!'

[NamKangMan]

I live in Jomtien Beach and see this every day, ..Russians promoting tours and acting as guides that before only Thai people were employed to do. If I did this, I would be in jail so fast my head would spin, but Russians have been doing this for ages with no consequences!

yeah. same in pattaya. heck go down walking street and ask those Russian ladies that are handing out fliers if they have work permits. I hated watching the signs in pattaya go more and more Russian over the years. Nothing against Russians, but just a general objection to anybody coming in and taking over a foreign place. You want to cater to people from your own country? Nothing wrong with that. But you can't just bring in people and start using them as tour guides. Got to suck it up, pay the visas, work permit fees, etc. I mean there were store fronts with signs only in Russian. No Thai, no English.

"ask those Russian ladies that are handing out fliers if they have work permits" - they don't have work permits because their boss pays "tea money." Shouldn't you have a problem with the corruption that allows them to do so, rather than the girls themselves?

"I hated watching the signs in pattaya go more and more Russian over the years." - I'm sure the Thai's hated watching signs go more and more English over the years, but it's called "business" and if you want to make money, you have to cater for the customers.

"but just a general objection to anybody coming in and taking over a foreign place." - you're here, aren't you? So are thousands of other foreigners. All you need is a sticker in your passport and you can "take over."

"Got to suck it up, pay the visas, work permit fees, etc." - tour guiding is an occupation reserved for Thai's. There is no work permit for it. The girl have got visas, or visa exempt, but I have heard these go through a "Mister Fix It" as well.

"You want to cater to people from your own country? Nothing wrong with that." - yes, especially when a Thai is incapable of doing the job properly, due to their inability of speaking the Russian language.

"I mean there were store fronts with signs only in Russian. No Thai, no English." - I'm sure your home country has a city/s where communities of a different nationality reside, or set up business. Not uncommon for the signage in these areas to be in a foreign language. Eg. many cities around the world have a "Chinatown."

[Blue Muton]

I don't understand what did this guy of Georgian origin do wrong? Did he steal? No! He did an honest job taking care of Russian group of tourists. I've seen many times how Thais try to deal with Russian tourists and they purely fail because of the language and culture barrier. In my opinion this is nonsense persecuting people for doing an honest job. Thai police should better focus on real problems, like real crime!

You twice used the word "honest" in your post but it seems you don't really understand the concept of honesty. The guy was working illegally, not honestly. I agree that there would appear to be more pressing matters but that does not justify this criminal activity.

[ICECOOL]

Most countries including Russia require foreigners entering and intending to work have a work permit. He did not have one and I am sure if I went to Russia and tried to do the same I could/would be arrested and deported.

[thedemon]

I like this photo -

The scowling and serious faces of the immigration/police guys, and then the fresh face of the young Russian guy, with just a hint of a little smile, as if to say 'Well, you got me there guys, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it!'

Yeah I noticed the same thing. Suspect that the Russian is not stupid. As opposed to not having a WP which can have some serious consequences, working outside the terms of your WP carries a maximum penalty of 20k fine, no imprisonment etc so will be difficult to extort much from him.

[gemguy]

Great job!!! Those despicable illegal tour guide crimes need to be stamped out once and for all!!! Forget about Thai bag snatchers, tourist murdering island kingpins, violent tuk tuk, taxi and jet ski mafiosi, Thai drug and weapon pushers, south-bound bombers, tourist murdering cops, shady murder investigations, tourist ripoffs, raping monks, get away with murder hiSo kids, irresponsible - mass murdering mini van, truck, VIP bus and lorry drivers, slave trade fishing fleet owners, security guard gun waving Rambos, teenage killing machines on pimped up illegal racing bikes in the night without lights, gun fights between teen gangs, increase of theft and violence in Thailand... We caught an illegal Russian tour guide, yeah!!!! Thailand gonna be safe, finally - how great!!!!!!!

Exactly.....and to further add insult to injury the Media ( Thai Visa Included ) trump up this kind of unimportant, non event as if everyone needs to be informed of such supposedly important events.....rather than cover the real issues you speak of.

Gosh, you have to wonder...you really do..... who it is exactly that chooses to write about and post this sort of media information that detracts from the real issues that should be covered and publicized by the media.

Oh well....gossipy, unimportant, near irrelevant and non event type articles help generate income for the media.

Cheers