Thai Tourism Minister confirms stringent measures to take care of tourists

[clockman]

Nepotism, rules Ok!

[DLock]

Dear Popkorn,

Didn't you try this folly once before?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/774310-foreign-tourists-can-be-assured-of-safety-in-thailand-says-kobkarn/

How did that work out for you that time?

Exactly.

[Time Traveller]

Do any of these stringent measures involve microchipping farangs as previously proposed by a Thai official?

[navara]

The tourist should stay away for a year or so.

[dieseldave1951]

to late for the tourist trade this, hi season has been a disaster, having a guesthouse and talking whith other owners

oh dear, .........to ensure that all tourists put on life vests.........

that sentence just stinks again of blaming the tourists

nothing to do with -

over loading

no training

taking loaded boats out when severe weather warnings are in effect

perhaps when people are held responsible and severe penalties are handed out to the people running these businesses (and we all have an idea who that could be) and not just after an incident occurs.

How many more people have to die before they get it, perhaps when their very important tourist industry vanishes they will be left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong

[silent]

oh dear, .........to ensure that all tourists put on life vests.........

that sentence just stinks again of blaming the tourists

nothing to do with -

over loading

no training

taking loaded boats out when severe weather warnings are in effect

perhaps when people are held responsible and severe penalties are handed out to the people running these businesses (and we all have an idea who that could be) and not just after an incident occurs.

How many more people have to die before they get it, perhaps when their very important tourist industry vanishes they will be left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong

Is there not some point where even the lowest education level of farlang tourist makes them more responsible for their own risk assessment in every given situation than villagers who in their own country might be considered ignorant (in the true sense of the word).

Or is it when they arrive in Thailand there's a sense of euphoria like Alice crawling down a rabbit hole, from a Prozac prescription for the journey that dulled common and basic survival senses?

[ebonykap]

If only David and Hannah had been wearing life jackets.....who knows?

[anon467848]

More verbal diarrhea from the TAT office, "we're going to this, do that, etc" . Talk is cheap unless the laws/rules are enforced. Good luck trying to enforce them in somewhere like Koh Samui, where most of the island is run by chao pho (mafia) families... A few years ago a new police chief threatened to get tough, he didn't last long after the police station was torched...

[The stuttering parrot]

If they were anywhere worried about the safety of tourists the first thing they should do is a complete overhaul of the buses and van industries .

Everyone of them safety checked and background of drivers done under strict guidelines with huge fines jail and company closures for breaches of the law.

I must be in lala land to even suggest this after seeing a policeman taking his two kids on the back of a motorbike in pouring rain withou helmets.

Safety in all aspects of Thailand is a long long way away.

[Bender]

after the nasty beating of a 68 yo british grandmother in hua hin, they start to fear the next high season will be down.... ( they dont care for the tourists safety, oh no, not at all)

Edited June 6, 2016 by Bender

[jeab1980]

oh dear, .........to ensure that all tourists put on life vests.........

that sentence just stinks again of blaming the tourists

nothing to do with -

over loading

no training

taking loaded boats out when severe weather warnings are in effect

perhaps when people are held responsible and severe penalties are handed out to the people running these businesses (and we all have an idea who that could be) and not just after an incident occurs.

How many more people have to die before they get it, perhaps when their very important tourist industry

vanishes they will be left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong

I agree with Thailand's safety measures are no good and need to be upgraded. But safety is personal responsibility as well. I and I'm sure you have witnessed many people in speed boats with no life vest on, I always put on when Captain of boat ask tourist to put on they say no need can swim?????.

[ChesneyHawkes]

Hold on, is this the tourism minister who suggested all foreign tourists be tagged like animals?

[ratcatcher]

More verbal diarrhea from the TAT office, "we're going to this, do that, etc" . Talk is cheap unless the laws/rules are enforced. Good luck trying to enforce them in somewhere like Koh Samui, where most of the island is run by chao pho (mafia) families... A few years ago a new police chief threatened to get tough, he didn't last long after the police station was torched...

"More verbal diarrhea from the TAT office, "we're going to this, do that, etc" . "

This is not an announcement from T.A.T.

This "stringent" woman, is the Minister of Tourism & Sports and you would think that given the government she is part of, that they could really shake things up and get the major problems sorted out. Problems, which other posters have pointed out in detail.

It is Thailand's problem, not the tourists' problem.

Madam Minister, it's time to "put a bit of stick about, crack the whip,make them jump". It's long past waffling time.

[rwill]

Swimmers will also be required to wear Kevlar full body suits to protect them when they get in the way of boats.

[Roomuck]

Oh this again. Is it that time of the month again? Meanwhile tourists are dying and being beaten in droves, can't wait for the July media release stating stringent measures being rolled out to protect tourist dollars.

Love the bitter foriegners, dying and beaten in droves.. Ahahaha, beating tourist hmm come to Australia and see

I have told him a million times not to exaggerate.

30 million tourists come a year and a handful get beaten up.

From that handful, most have brought it upon themselves by slapping, punching, pushing, swearing, abusing, spitting or not paying for their drinks etc A few more are injured while being robbed as is normal in any country.

There are transport accidents but common sense should tell you not to get on an overcrowded speedboat in weather that already caused the cancellation of the very same tours by other companies. Don't hire a motorbike if you don't have a licsence and wear a helmet if you do. Don't drink and ride/drive.

IMO the best thing they could do would be to hand out a list of dos and don'ts with the arrival card on the plane. Let tourists know that Thais don't want to be patted on the head (farangs mistakenly think they are being friendly), don't put your feet on things, and all the things that the Thais are sensitive to, but farangs are not. Don't make an angry big scene out of a small mix up.

The Thais are very friendly people and most are proud of their country and happy to share it with polite foreigners. The way I have been treated by thai people here has been great.

As the above poster said, go to Australia and see how foreigners are treated there. No one goes out of their way to help foreigners. They will likely be racially abused on public transport, attacked for fun, and in the more severe cases be shot and buried in the bush.There was also the case of the Thai woman being thrown off a bridge and being fed to saltwater crocodiles. A Thai school girl is still missing. Indian students are singled out for beatings.

Thais don't go around beating up foreigners just for fun, there is usually something that sparks these incidents and often it is drunk or angry foreigners.

Lovely people these Thais, 30 million tourists coming this year, 29,999,900 will have a great time, many will have the best time of their lives.

[Thechook]

Oh this again. Is it that time of the month again? Meanwhile tourists are dying and being beaten in droves, can't wait for the July media release stating stringent measures being rolled out to protect tourist dollars.

Love the bitter foriegners, dying and beaten in droves.. Ahahaha, beating tourist hmm come to Australia and see

Australia sounds like a very nasty place for tourists if it's worse than Thailand. Maybe they should take a leaf out of Thailand's book and adopt the Thai model of civilisation. Just out of curiosity how many more tourists have died,been beaten, robbed or scammed in Australia this year compared to Thailand?

[Bender]

Oh this again. Is it that time of the month again? Meanwhile tourists are dying and being beaten in droves, can't wait for the July media release stating stringent measures being rolled out to protect tourist dollars.

Love the bitter foriegners, dying and beaten in droves.. Ahahaha, beating tourist hmm come to Australia and see

Australia sounds like a very nasty place for tourists if it's worse than Thailand. Maybe they should take a leaf out of Thailand's book and adopt the Thai model of civilisation. Just out of curiosity how many more tourists have died,been beaten, robbed or scammed in Australia this year compared to Thailand?

hahaha

no Australia is a very safe place to holiday. Dont listen to these thai apologists they love to tell BS about Australia or the Uk. (In fact these thai apologists do certainly work in the thai tourism industry)

In the western world, its a rare occurence if a tourist is victim of a nasty crime.

Crime against tourists, in thailand happen every single day.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Bender

[sahibji]

you can have all stringent measures that you can think of but what is the planned process to enforce these measures so that they are efficacious.that is the area that ought to be seriously addressed.

[natway09]

Before we go any further with the epistle I strongly suggests a long talk with her counterpart in the Transport Ministry.

Without the present laws being obeyed there is no possibility of tourists having safe passage

[Usual Suspect]

IMO someone in the TaT has just seen the REAL tourist figures, and on Samui & Ko Tao the numbers may be WELL down..so the minister needs to be seen doing something about it.

I think minister that the answer to this being one of the worst low-seasons for overseas visitors may be more to do with the way this country of yours treats it's tourists, & now many folk are opting for other Asian holiday destinations after (over the last couple of years) they've seen, or even (sadly) expirienced so,so many dreadful incidents here that in the eyes of the western world have been avoidable/mishandled, & covered-up.

Endless meetings & statements are not enough to sway visitor confidence.

(Sorry..I forgot to mention jet-skis, tuk-tuk/taxi drivers, ATM fees, roadside 500b fines from MiB, etc)

[nakhonandy]

Oh this again. Is it that time of the month again? Meanwhile tourists are dying and being beaten in droves, can't wait for the July media release stating stringent measures being rolled out to protect tourist dollars.

Love the bitter foriegners, dying and beaten in droves.. Ahahaha, beating tourist hmm come to Australia and see

I have told him a million times not to exaggerate.

30 million tourists come a year and a handful get beaten up.

From that handful, most have brought it upon themselves by slapping, punching, pushing, swearing, abusing, spitting or not paying for their drinks etc A few more are injured while being robbed as is normal in any country.

There are transport accidents but common sense should tell you not to get on an overcrowded speedboat in weather that already caused the cancellation of the very same tours by other companies. Don't hire a motorbike if you don't have a licsence and wear a helmet if you do. Don't drink and ride/drive.

IMO the best thing they could do would be to hand out a list of dos and don'ts with the arrival card on the plane. Let tourists know that Thais don't want to be patted on the head (farangs mistakenly think they are being friendly), don't put your feet on things, and all the things that the Thais are sensitive to, but farangs are not. Don't make an angry big scene out of a small mix up.

The Thais are very friendly people and most are proud of their country and happy to share it with polite foreigners. The way I have been treated by thai people here has been great.

As the above poster said, go to Australia and see how foreigners are treated there. No one goes out of their way to help foreigners. They will likely be racially abused on public transport, attacked for fun, and in the more severe cases be shot and buried in the bush.There was also the case of the Thai woman being thrown off a bridge and being fed to saltwater crocodiles. A Thai school girl is still missing. Indian students are singled out for beatings.

Thais don't go around beating up foreigners just for fun, there is usually something that sparks these incidents and often it is drunk or angry foreigners.

Lovely people these Thais, 30 million tourists coming this year, 29,999,900 will have a great time, many will have the best time of their lives.

Talk about rose coloured glasses!

Outside of the tourist hotspots maybe you have a point, certainly not in Pattaya, Patong etc.

I live in Jomtien and there are regular, daily reports of one thing or another down in Patts. Jet Ski scammers, Ladyboy muggers, Thai youths ganging up on tourists. No idea where you live, but here it is not isolated incidents at all.

Of the so called 30 mil tourists you mentioned the bulk of them will be shepherded around in buses and then follow a flag about so are relatively safe, however even some of the brave that venture out on their own get targeted.

[Shaunduhpostman]

Well, at least they seem to have forgotten about last year's silly season idea to require all tourists to wear wrist bands with electronic tracking devices on them to help the police monitor their whereabouts. Though that word "stringency," if there is an equivalent in Thai and it was actually used by the good minister in her statement, makes you worry if other similarly hyperbolic, bizarre and noxious not to mention illogical solutions are not looming on the horizon.

[AlphMichaels]

One of her first public statements after getting the appointment back in 2014 was to suggest wristbands be worn by all tourists. I'm told some hotels in Surat Thani area are actually doing it now for guests. HNW family (Toshiba Thailand) and married to a general, I believe. I DO believe she's got the savvy but may be being directed on things like this. Unfortunate as it's a major issue ATM. It's time to put enforceable standards/practices for boat operators, their drivers and regular boat inspections. Most I get on wouldn't pass any western style inspection. Also, there's no enforcement on the waterways..., poorly marked boating channels..., boats traveling at high speeds after dark, etc.

Is there a Coast Guard here? I never see them and live on the water.

[tuanku]

Next stop Koh Samed?

These boat accidents are both dramatic and unnecessary, but compared to the dangers faced on the roads they are very small beer.

[tx22cb]

oh dear, .........to ensure that all tourists put on life vests.........

that sentence just stinks again of blaming the tourists

nothing to do with -

over loading

no training

taking loaded boats out when severe weather warnings are in effect

perhaps when people are held responsible and severe penalties are handed out to the people running these businesses (and we all have an idea who that could be) and not just after an incident occurs.

How many more people have to die before they get it, perhaps when their very important tourist industry vanishes they will be left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong

I'm not sure I like your tone - this fine Minister was handpicked to lead Thai Tourism by Prayut himself, and she has his full support. She, like the PM, is doing the best she can ...

[davemos]

Hi was on a longtail last week.Big sign saying wear life jackets at all times but none on board!!

[NCC1701A]

Glad to see nothing is changing.

The shock would be to much for my heart.

[TSF]

Got to be some serious changes in attitude if they really want to tackle this growing problem. First step should be start dismanteling this Us Vs Them mentality, that everybody who is not an ethnic Thai is a potential enemy to be treated with caution and flattened fast if they step out of line.

[Pattaya28]

"Confirms" ?

So tourism safety in the past non-existent ?

[Tonawatchee]

Tourists will be pleased to see the 280 THB atm fee.