Pattaya sees rise in independent Chinese tourists amid decline in group tours

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A Decade Ago: Crowne Plaza, work permits and Chinese tourists
Phuket Gazette



PHUKET: -- If you weren’t in Phuket ten years ago, you might not even know what the Crown Plaza was.

Nonetheless, it stole page one of the Phuket Gazette in the May 6-11, 2006 issue when it was bought by Kingdom Hotel Investment, which was headed by Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud – the 8th richest man in the world at the time.

Originally the Karon Villa Resort, the hotel complex was built in 1984 and then rebranded as the Crowne Plaza in 2003. Despite the unfamiliar name, the property itself is one that many socialites and tourists on the island will recognize, as it is now Movenpick Spa Resort Karon Beach.

Though Prince Alwaleed praised the opportunity to get his hands on a fully refurbished hotel in a pristine site on Phuket’s west coast, the big news for most readers was a little sidebar story on page one: Labor Chief speeds up work permit procedures.

It’s hard to imagine that the sometimes painful process of getting a work permit in Thailand was once even more torturous.

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/A-Decade-Ago-Crowne-Plaza-work-permits/63852?desktopversion


-- Phuket Gazette 2016-05-11

[marcusd]

Once more difficult to get a work permit? You must be kidding. I is not Virtually IMPOSSIBLE to attain. Hard to apply and easy to be declined AFTER payment is Smiley and gratefully robbed