Governor letter: Tourists need to obey Phuket laws

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OPINION
Governor letter: Tourists need to obey Phuket laws
Phuket Gazette


Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada talks about the need for tourists to obey local laws. Photo: Gazette file

Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada started his first day as the Phuket Governor on September 30, 2015. He is a Phuket native with a master’s degree in political and administrative science from the National Institute of Development Administration.

Here he talks about a list of dos & don’ts aimed at preventing so many tourists dying on the island and improving Phuket’s reputation as a tourist destination.

PHUKET: As we all know, foreigners die very frequently on the island, which creates a very negative image of Phuket as a tourist destination. Subsequently we get a lot of pressure from the international community, telling us that we do not take enough safety measures to protect tourists. This matter always comes up in consulate meetings.

Firstly it’s important to categorize the deaths of foreigners based on the circumstances before any action is taken.

The first category is deaths resulting from accidents, such as road deaths or unpredictable crimes. We cannot control the accidents people have, except for encouraging people to drive safely. For this we have launched many road safety drives, such as the helmet campaign and the ‘No Drunk Driving’ initiative, as well as many others.

These are ways we can help you, but you, the public, also have to help yourselves.

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/opinion/Governor-letter-Tourists-need-obey-Phuket-laws/63806


-- Phuket Gazette 2016-05-04

[craigt3365]

Too funny. The rule of law here is pretty much ignored. And easily gotten around if you have the right connections. Absolutely ridiculous statement. How about getting the police force to obey and actually enforce the laws?

[BigBadGeordie]

There is something about senior officials in boy scout uniforms that I find, how shall I put it, unnerving.

[BwindiBoy]

""We cannot control the accidents people have, except for encouraging people to drive safely. For this we have launched many road safety drives, such as the helmet campaign and the ‘No Drunk Driving’ initiative, as well as many others."

A very worrying first sentence, summing up the Thai mentality towards road deaths, etc.. They then use words such as "encourage", "launched", "campaign" and "initiative", but they need to start thinking in terms of words such as "enforce", "implemented", "educate" and "sustain" and then take the actions that go with those words. It needs to continue until it is ingrained into Thai thinking and culture; that it is in their nature to stick to the rules, drive responsibly and sustain this forever (not just two months, or whatever short timescale is popular at that time), knowing that the laws will be enforced and there will be consequences if they do not comply.

[Nasrullah]

There is something about senior officials in boy scout uniforms that I find, how shall I put it, unnerving.

Many young kids from the 60's,70's &80's ..'always be prepared' camps would feel the same way.....

[daveAustin]

Here he talks about a list of dos & don’ts aimed at preventing so many tourists dying on the island and improving Phuket’s reputation as a tourist destination

Ahh, that's what it's all about, the reputation of the island. For a minute there I thought his advanced education might have fired up his brain and taught him some empathy.

[Goldieinkathu]

" As we all know, foreigners die very frequently on the island, which creates a very negative image of Phuket as a tourist destination"

Bad,bad tourists!!

[sweatalot]

What about Thai people - do they need to obey laws, too?

I guess more than 90 percent disregarding the law in Thailand are Thai - aren't they?

[Old Croc]

There is something about senior officials in boy scout uniforms that I find, how shall I put it, unnerving.

His Admiral/General/Emperor's white uniform was in the cleaners.

[clockman]

Ruritania, you must not keep dying. This is very bad.!

[iReason]

"When people die from a crime then it is partly our fault, as we should be doing whatever we can to prevent those crimes.

However, many people die because of their own misadventure, such as tourists who disobey red flags on the beaches warning people not to swim in dangerous areas."

"There are signs in many different languages at the beaches, so understanding the dangers shouldn’t be a problem."

"Red flags are internationally recognized as meaning ‘do not swim’, yet people still end up swimming there and dying as a result."

"Frankly, such tourists deserve some kind of punishment."

You seem a bit confused Governor.

You skip by "crime" (that your "police" should be preventing) pretty quickly and jump to "misadventure" by those naughty tourists.

And are you implying that those who die drowning, deserve it?

For starters, why don't you do something about the jet-ski scum and the retards in speedboats who are making mincemeat out of your guests?

And when guests die in your country from a crime committed on them, it is your fault. Not partly.

[petermik]

There is something about senior officials in boy scout uniforms that I find, how shall I put it, unnerving.

Dib Dib Dob the governer,s on the job

[torpedo1970]

The rule of law for foreigners only.....

Please help us, don't die when on holidays, as it gives us a bad reputation....

How original!

[klauskunkel]

Well then, print them and hand them out at the airport, etc....

"Dear Tourist, thanks for visiting Phuket.

Now, Obey This:...."

No? Thought so.

Edited May 4, 2016 by klauskunkel

[RigPig]

The line in the OP that got me was :

The first category is deaths resulting from accidents, such as road deaths or unpredictable crimes.

They can't even control the predictable ones hahaha...

[Psimbo]

All the fault of the naughty foreigners again. A very xenophobic article. Maybe address core issues that are problematic first like driving standards, etc. I agree with the shirts thing though- I get annoyed when some guy without a shirt or topless is dripping all over the food in a supermarket- its unhygienic and the stores should not admit them.

Face it though- the Gov is a 'Son of Phuket' and has to 'compromise' all the time as it affects him after his tenure. He cannot rock the (gravy) boat.

[Lupatria]

"Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada talks about the need for tourists to obey local laws."

It is probably out of frustration as he knows his fellow citizen give a shitake about the laws.

[Merylhighground]

I'm actually a tad surprised. 16 replies and not one brown-nosed Westerner as yet rattling on about 'faLangs' giving Phuket a 'bad name'. and how the mighty Guv'nor is spot on.....

The Guv probably knows the Thai citizens just ignore him totally, snigger at his knobbly knees and crack up when he tries leading them in a rousing rendition of 'GingGangGoolie'. so he has to try and get someone to listen and justify his position...

[legend49]

Same focus as Hue Hin worried about the IMAGE of the place. Never compliance of the law by ALL.

[gandalf12]

" As we all know, foreigners die very frequently on the island, which creates a very negative image of Phuket as a tourist destination"

Bad,bad tourists!!

Easy solution. Pass a law that states anyone who dies on the island, foreigner that is, will be fined and have their passport stamped clearly stating that they broke the law by being dead on the island

[connda]

Want to protect tourists? Focus on Native Thais obeying Phuket's and Thailand's laws first.

[connda]

" As we all know, foreigners die very frequently on the island, which creates a very negative image of Phuket as a tourist destination"

Bad,bad tourists!!

"Thailand is just too kind to tourists. They are often allowed to do whatever they want, just to keep attracting more tourists."

Time to Get Tough With Tourists!! Bad,bad tourists!!

I'll make sure to post the governors comments to all my farang friends considering going to Phuket for holiday, right along with a list of alternate holiday destinations.

[LivinginKata]

It's well worth reading the full news article. The abbreviated extract here might offend many tourists and visitors. The full article explains a lot more. Mind you this quote 'The CCTV system on the island is now being repaired and new equipment is also being installed. This technology will help authorities keep an eye on tourist safety and catch more perpetrators' just displays how inept the whole system really is .....

[laolover88]

I like the idea of "punishing" tourists. What "punishments" would he think would entice a further influx of quality travellers?

[snowgard]

Firstly it’s important to categorize the deaths of foreigners based on the circumstances before any action is taken.

They never done it before in the last 20 years? And him never done it in the last 7 month ... after "This matter always comes up in consulate meetings."???

YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT POSITION MAN!!!

[TonyBB]

Dear Governor Chamroen,

I support your calls for more responsible behavior by tourists. But with all respect, I must say that people will not take your message seriously until actions are taken to address the wide range of bad behaviors on this island, including the locals, the police, the taxi drivers, and so on. The reason the consulates have expressed concerns is largely because of the image Phuket has developed. People come to this island and they see a lawless, corrupt and dangerous place.

One only needs to look around to see the behavior of tuk-tuk drivers, the many people driving motorbikes with no helmets, the scams, the traffic hazards, and so on. Just today, while turning into my driveway in Rawai, a motorbike came screaming up the road, swerved around me on the right lane, then swerved back into the left lane just missing a van coming the other way. I just caught a glimpse of it -- while my heart skipped a few beats - and I noticed it was driven by two local kids. Very young. No helmets. People who live here know that this kind of thing is very common. The police do nothing about it.

I'm not making excuses for tourists' bad behavior. They should wear shirts in malls, obey the warning flags at the beach, etc. I would be happy if the police gave citations to all the offenders and barred them from visiting Thailand again. But unless your government takes action on all the systemic problems here, I doubt you'll make much progress improving the behavior of tourists.

[andrew55]

I'd like to congratulate the Governor.

After recently spending a few days R&R in Kata I was disappointed and embarrassed to see the generally low standard of foreigner behavior.

Walking through markets and riding bikes in bikinis or budgie-smugglers. Yuk. When walking head on to a Thai expecting the Thai to move aside.

Helmetless on bikes and feeling they had the right to proceed while Thais were waiting at stopped traffic.

Demanding first service in front of others.

Refusing to respond to a greeting from our Thai hosts.

Arguing every bill.

Not a very appropriate way for a guest to behave.

Thais get away with some things that we don't. That's the way it is.

I did see at Charong police stopping all Thai and foreign riders without helmets, dealing with them equally and paying the 500 fine at the office across the road. Everyone was given a receipt (how do I know so much you may well puzzle...) One young shirtless male foreigner was shouting that he'd pay the cop on the road as he didn't have time to wait in the 10 long queue. Ice Man was getting visibly angry. He loudly suggested that he was too busy and important for all this Thai bulls#^t. Wonder how he went.

Having spent some time in rural Thailand I was surprised to see how tolerated this un-Thai behavior is.

Thais also feel that we as farang should know better. We're rich and educated. Many times when sharing a meal with rural Thais they will eat sticky rice with their hands but I am expected to use tools.

Maybe some pamphlet at HKT with a few basics such as foot pointing, whistling, appropriate attire, dangers of motorbikes... surely we don't realize how rude we are being??

I think if some rules were enforced (long-term crackdown?) then many of the undesirables will go elsewhere. I understand the importance of tourist numbers but surely tourist quality counts for something.

Book'em Danno.

[eisfeld]

Shirtless tourists in shopping malls are not the concern of a governor. These are private establishments that if they wanted to, could enforce dresscodes via their security personel. On top it's not illegal to run around without a shirt or you'd have to lock up a whole lot of Thais who walk on the streets like that every day. And what's the problem with shorts? Since when are they against social converntions? Half the country wears them.

And how is that a problem that is even remotely in the same league as the other, real, problems like dieing people? First speaking about road deaths, then about shirtless tourists, then about enforcing laws stricter? What?

The claim that road accidents cannot be prevented is simply false. If you enforce traffic laws, fix potholes and provide proper safety features, traffic accidents will greatly get reduced. Other countries show that this clearly works. But they can't even stop hordes of people driving in the wrong direction every single day on every single road or opening food stalls in the middle of the street!

Road safety, public transport, crime rates, drug problems, overdevelopment/environmental abuse, corruption and a general lack of law enforcement are the real issues that Phuket faces. And it doesn't look like they are being properly tackled.

[tomwct]

Thai's don't follow the law. Why should the tourists?

[gandalf12]

The idea that people should obey the laws can not be argued with. However, Thai's are some of the worst offenders wen it comes to ignoring the laws. Yes be strict and enforce the laws but be fair and make sure everyone is treated the same not just foreigners but locals as well.

Incidentally the red flag is international but if you are silly enough to go swimming when it is being flown it isnt breaking the law just breaking common sense

Edited May 4, 2016 by gandalf12