If tourism has a dark side, it’s our own fault: Thai editorial

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 minutes ago, thehelmsman said:

The only improvement I wish for are nicer beaches. Everything else should be left alone.

 

Yes indeed. Let's keep everything else just exactly the same!

 

Such as local visa run trips...

 

And visits to Walking Street in Pattaya...

[mok199]

,pay peanuts you get monkeys...why don't thais try harder to be more professional...daily wage of 350bt..and....the ridiculous ''save face''  (which is really a polite phrase for ''even when I am wrong,i am right because I am thai'')..sawadee no crap please

[tomacht8]

I know and love Thailand over 20 years.
It is sad to see the development of this country.
I really miss the Thai smile.
It has unfortunately become rare.
 

[paulinbkk111]

Well they love Chinese tourists and only want them as they think they are all cash, so have zero sympathy.

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed. 

[lostinisaan]

 Aeeh, yep it's wonderful. 

[Honthy]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

The dark side of Thai tourism includes overpricing, lurid sex shows in bars, gang-controlled prostitution, dangerous means of transport, robbery of every scale and, increasingly, violent assaults on tourists.

 

Everywhere, not only in Thailand, however, hitting, kicking tourists is some kinda exotic fruit from Thailand.

[lostinisaan]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Yes indeed. Let's keep everything else just exactly the same!

 

Such as local visa run trips...

 

And visits to Walking Street in Pattaya...

 

 

 

 

[gemguy]

True ..but not as bad as it is made out to be or implied...but yes, needs to be addressed in numerous respects.

Meantime .......nothing changes quickly while the authorities actually do try to police those issues and regulated a lot of it but it is so widespread and so much entailed they would have to have strict martial law to bring it under control and or suppress all the sleaze that goes on.

Not making excuses for those aspects of Thailand but there are just too many factors to consider while the manpower and effort to bring all of it under complete control or eliminate all of it for that matter would be extremely challenging and somewhat impossible.

Those aspects of Thailand are not going to go away anytime soon no matter what they try to do.

Cheers

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Just now, boomerangutang said:

 

wow, can someone clone that girl? I want one.  I met an El Salvador gal last year while traveling.  Yeeoww.

 

You could play handball on her arse it is that big.

[arrowsdawdle]

14 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Congratulations in order here, someone brave enough to look inwardly for a change. Well done.

 

Lip service. Pandering. No change until they add reality to the education curricula, and enforce/litigate Thai infractions equitably, e.g., Koh Tao.

[DogNo1]

Why not leave most of Thailand as a place where the Thai people can live as they choose without having to cater to tourists?  It IS their country and their culture.

[SaintLouisBlues]

3 minutes ago, DogNo1 said:

Why not leave most of Thailand as a place where the Thai people can live as they choose without having to cater to tourists?  It IS their country and their culture.

"Most"? Why not "all"?

[Elkski]

Who released this news post?   Is it official as to the note in increased violence on tourists?  I did hate to see Starbucks and big chains.  

[Elkski]

Who released this news post?   Is it official as to the note in increased violence on tourists?  I did hate to see Starbucks and big chains.  

[jacko45k]

And will this, like  driving standards, be a problem perceived but not acted upon sufficiently?

[Ulic]

Thailand just needs to start with something simple like picking up the trash/litter

and disposing of it properly. The beaches, the water and the land are full of

garbage. Absolutely disgusting.

 

[Stargeezr]

My response to this Nation  news story  is that, Whizbang,  The lurid sex  shows

are far  and  few between  except  in the eyes  of  any Thai  person  including  their

news reporters.  It  is true  though that Thailand  has  to  improve  if  it  wants

to  stay  up  with  its  neighbours.  One  way would be  to  let  all  visitors

into  the  country  for  90 days  without  a visa,  but  I  doubt  that  will happen  in

my lifetime  because  of  all the  greed.  Just  my opinion of  course.

Geezer

 

 

[madmitch]

8 hours ago, DogNo1 said:

Why not leave most of Thailand as a place where the Thai people can live as they choose without having to cater to tourists?  It IS their country and their culture.

Maybe because tourism accounts for a very large proportion of GDP. And you know as well as I do that money is number one in Thailand.

[elgordo38]

18 hours ago, WhizBang said:

Good that someone is pointing the finger back at Thailand and Thais, however they completed missed that one of the biggest source of problems is the RTP.

 

Untill the RTP and the Thai justice system gets a complete top to bottom reform, NOTHING will change in this country where money trumps the law or any form of justice.   Prayut is simply a puppet of the Thai elite.
 

By the way, where are these 'lurid sex shows'?  I have been here over 15 years and have never seen a lurid sex show, and not for want of looking, I might add.  

 

Another temple tourist?

[Skeptic7]

OK so I'll be the only  honest one here. First came here 25 years ago and it wasn't in any way, shape or form for the temples or beaches or Buddihsm! Nope...It was for the bars, booze, beer and babes and all were bargains back then. NUFF SAID....qouting the legend Bernard Trunk... The Nite Owl...of the Bangkok Post who reported on and told it like it really was on a weekly basis back in the day. 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 12/22/2016 at 6:51 PM, fruitman said:

Thailand could become the touristic hub of Asia if they just invested seriously in tourism...it has to be safe in all ways, speaking english (police/hospitals/shops/restaurants/malls/busdrivers/taxidrivers and so on).

 

Build some serious attractions which are unique to Thailand like a huge fruit-resort where ALL tropical fruit of the world can be eaten.

 

Stop dual pricing, make it all affordable without cheating and dirty low tricks. Make it totally possible to walk around on good sidewalks everywhere, nice parks, clean air, clean beaches/sea, good places for diving/snorkling/swimming/dining/drinking.

 

Chinese who live in huge cities would love to go to a green relaxed place down to earth, see animals and nature and just relax (after going to the designer outlets for shopping first).

 

Thailand needs serious attractions which attract thousands of visitors a day, huge waterparks, gardens, forests, wildlife reserves, attraction parks western standard and much more.

 

Stop with growing rice and give the land back to nature and animals. Organise great jungletours with boattrips, eating from tree's/plants , animal feeding, bird watching, elephant watching, waterfall swimming and so on.

 

But first of all, make it organised and install a real policeforce who also speaks english and gets a decent salary.

It was a good post till you said

Stop with growing rice and give the land back to nature and animals.

Do you know how many people growing rice supports?

What would Thai people eat if they didn't grow rice?

[thaibeachlovers]

On 12/23/2016 at 8:48 AM, SaintLouisBlues said:

"Most"? Why not "all"?

?????

Do you want them all to be working for peanuts while "other" people cater to tourists?

AFAIK Thais actually WANT to be working in the tourist industry. Beats planting rice for less than 3,000 baht a month.

[fruitman]

20 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It was a good post till you said

Stop with growing rice and give the land back to nature and animals.

Do you know how many people growing rice supports?

What would Thai people eat if they didn't grow rice?

 

Imported rice/wheat whatever as long as it's imported.

 

For SE-asia thailand is about the richest country with the highest salaries...just buy from the neighbours and go for the higher paid industries like Korea and Japan do.

 

Build something nice on those ricefields, jungleparks, wildlifeparks, woodplantations, fruit, go for tourism totally.

 

Neighbours can produce rice cheaper than thailand so let them do it. Same goes for peanuts.

[aircooledflat4]

On 22/12/2016 at 3:51 PM, fruitman said:

Chinese who live in huge cities would love to go to a green relaxed place down to earth, see animals and nature and just relax (after going to the designer outlets for shopping first).

 

We talking mainland Chinese? Like sit still for 5 minutes peace and quiet chill out relax?  It ain't gonna happen dude.

 

Chinese love noise, and feel very nervous  if things get too quiet. Or if there isn't a few dozen other Chinese in close proximity. Like joined at the hip close. And a flag bearing leader. Yelling at them. Through a megaphone.

 

They aren't that sophisticated when it comes to venturing off into nature, getting away from it all and "relaxing". Something like Nong Nooch is right up their alley. But with more flashing lights. And more noise. The tackier the better.  But don't have real animals in those places or they'll throw stuff at them and laugh lol.

[NanLaew]

On 12/22/2016 at 0:51 PM, fruitman said:

Thailand needs serious attractions which attract thousands of visitors a day, huge waterparks, gardens, forests, wildlife reserves, attraction parks western standard and much more.

 

Stop with growing rice and give the land back to nature and animals. Organise great jungletours with boattrips, eating from tree's/plants , animal feeding, bird watching, elephant watching, waterfall swimming and so on.

So which is it? Stop rice farming and give the land back to the flora and fauna, or make it a nation of jungle tourism in the newly created 'natural' habitat taken from the rice farmers with plenty of huge waterparks and 'attraction parks western standard'?

[connda]

The lurid side is sitting across the street from excited tourists with dreams and aspirations that are dashed within a 10 minute conversation regarding taxis that don't use meters, un-regulated tours that include and huge amount of time selling junk to tourist would find in on their own in the various night markets, the overly aggressive stance of various transportation vendors be they taxis (who don't want to use meters), sawtaws who want to duel change and will fight a foreigner to get their fare, and then those who plot to take advantage of tourists thought scams and discretion.  Oh, lets not mention the carnage of mini-van and bus drivers passing on blind corners and - well- not making it...the result of which is a dozen of so dead tourist. 

 

But with that said.  Within 1 year of living hear I pretty much knew that side of stupidity.  But for the tourist here for 4 weeks!!!!  Wow!  Best of luck. 

[SaintLouisBlues]

I came through Swampy promptly at 9pm on Friday - and I do mean "promptly". Arrived at the Immigration queue at 8:59, processed and through to the other side by 9:01. I then read in the Bangkok Post the next morning that Swampy would be one of the three busiest airports in the world between 20th December and 9th January. I thought "I'm back, nothing has changed"

[namoi]

it took me 45 mins to get through on Thursday at 2.30pm been through both quicker and longer lines before

[eldragon]

Guy makes a good point about the way Khao San Rd.'s image has hurt business there. But the truth is backpacking has evolved, thanks in no small part to the Internet. KSR used to be the launchpad for a journey in Thailand. Start there and see what happens. But now there are hostels and guesthouses all over town that travelers can book online with no hassle and none of the trademark Khao San attitude, so who need it?


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