"Double" charging of foreign tourists is killing our business, say Krabi long tail boat operators

[Matt96]

Just now, fish monger said:

Thai's travel problems are not ours....That's not the issue here...

the best answer of all!

 

farang's travel problem are not Thai's. that's why Thais at their own country  charge foreigners as much as they wish.

[SunsetT]

What annoyed me when visiting Kao Yai National park where they also charge 400thb was that most accomodation is just outside the park. That means  that if u want to spend a few days or a week there going in and out of the park visitng different places on different days at leisure you must pay 400thb every day.....So short sighted because if u could do that u would spend much more time and money at the visitor centres in the park.......Been once but I will not return........'Once bitten, twice shy'!

 

....Lets hope a Thai brain cell somewhere will note this and make a connection with the Thai brain cell that has seen the need to provide free tourist visas due to plummeting tourist numbers.

 

 

 

 

[Panda13]

Do not go gentle into that good sweet night,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light .

[elgordo38]

This old dog of a topic (been hashed over more times than I can remember) is really growing legs AGAIN!! Guess we have to walk it around the block one more time before giving it a rest for a month or two. Yish.

[phycokiller]

1 hour ago, Bluespunk said:

I don't.

 

Same price for all please.

that would be the same price, if farang no longer subsidize Thais the price will have to be in the middle somewhere

[Time Traveller]

4 hours ago, Crash999 said:

Maintenance of the parks. Thais pay for it out of tax. Other countries do the same for out of state or out of country visitors, though not normally 10x more. 

"Maintenance of parks" - Really, which parks would that be?

"Thais pay for it out of tax" - which taxes, VAT, ? alcohol excise?  fuel taxes ? Pretty sure  that anyone - even non-thais- spending money in thailand pay taxes. 

[anotheruser]

Just now, phycokiller said:

that would be the same price, if farang no longer subsidize Thais the price will have to be in the middle somewhere

What do we subsidize? There is not even the pretense of preservation or conservation in the parks of Thailand. This is one of the main issues in regards to entry fees is they seem to go up in fumes. Maybe if Farangs didn't pay the high fees Somchai are faithful park warden would buy a Toyota he can afford rather than big houses and whores, etc.

 

The price is unreasonable compared to even western countries as I pointed out in an earlier post but much more than that gross misappropriation of the funds leaves a bad taste on people's mouths. In order for Foreign visitors to subsidize something there would need to be something being done to quanitify that statement. What exactly are we subsidizing neglect, abuse and illegal poaching? 

[drgoon]

And the penny starts to drop...

[realenglish1]

12 minutes ago, Matt96 said:

no. you have a full right to pay and go to the national park or not to pay and not go.

 

even in the Democracy you can't come to the car dealership and buy a Mercedes for 10% of it's price because you think it's a reasonable price. pay what seller asks or leave it.

instead of it you keep whining that Mercedes should be sold with 90% discount because someone else bought  it for this price.

 

it's none of your business who paid less. take the seller's offer or get out.

 

 

I think your mentality should be in North Korea or maybe A socially unjust country like  Somalia 

Either way you are left leaning  That is clear Join the Liberal Left in the USA But I suspect you are Thai 

[Jai Dee]

A number of off-topic argumentative posts and replies have been removed from this thread.

[petedk]

1 hour ago, Arandora said:

It is not racial discrimination. It is discrimination between Thai nationals, visitors and non-Thai residents irrespective of race, colour or creed. 

It is dual pricing and exists in different forms in many countries. I'm a UK pensioner on a decent pension, more than those less fortunate than me (and there are millions in the U.K. Workforce) who earn less in full time employment. Yet I can get discounts on attractions, entry fees, buses (even free on some!) compared to UK residents and visitors. 

However, the dual pricing system has in the past been used corruptly and its current application is tainted with that reputation. 

Solution? Not me. I avoid on principle and use my Thai Driving Licence where I swallow my principles! ?

It is racial.

 

I was with a group of 10 to 12 Americans (American passports... can't speak Thai). We went to see a a famous sight.

They were charged 20 baht but I was charged 200 Baht. I didn't go in.

 

Why is it racial? Those guys were sons and daughters of Thais who moved to USA 40 years ago. This was their first trip to Thailand. Skin colour and nothing else.

 

I speak Thai, have lived here 20 years. No matter what I said or did I couldn't get in at the Thai price. Needless to say, I didn't say anything about them not being Thai.

[nontabury]

It's good to see the Longtail boatmen making this complaint. Now as a long time Ao-Nang resident,I wonder when these same boatmen will adjust their's prices for transporting tourist. Compare the prices they were charging 10yrs or 15yrs or 20yrs ago, and taking into account inflation etc,and you will soon realise that they also exploiting the tourist,maybe that's the reason they receive so few repeat visitors.

[SuwadeeS]

I hope everybody who disagree with the dual price rip off is going to share it in all their social media and tell their friend to visit other countries with fair prices.

[Matt96]

6 minutes ago, petedk said:

It is racial.

 

I was with a group of 10 to 12 Americans (American passports... can't speak Thai). We went to see a a famous sight.

They were charged 20 baht but I was charged 200 Baht. I didn't go in.

 

Why is it racial? Those guys were sons and daughters of Thais who moved to USA 40 years ago. This was their first trip to Thailand. Skin colour and nothing else.

 

I speak Thai, have lived here 20 years. No matter what I said or did I couldn't get in at the Thai price. Needless to say, I didn't say anything about them not being Thai.

no, it's not.

 

it was just a mistake of a government official and a an abuse of an appearance of those Thai-looking with US passports. the system is never perfect.

 

"No matter what I said or did I couldn't get in at the Thai price" you don't need to say anything. just show Thai id (if you have one) like all Thais do if any questions asked.

 

you are not a citizen of Thailand? pay a foreigner's price!

[elgordo38]

As they say on Z Nation I think its time to MERCY this topic. 

[Benmart]

The internet is a wonderful way to share  honest/dishonest and positive/negative experiences with worldwide exposure.  Post experiences on Tripadvisor, TVF and other social media outlets. Post videos on YouTube etc. Not just the bad, but the good as well.

 

Thailand, where I live, is generally in the "Green Zone", but in the "Red Zone" as far as public safety, driver education, disabled access and dual-pricing.

[Benmart]

5 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

As they say on Z Nation I think its time to MERCY this topic. 

Up to the Moderator, not me.

[petedk]

4 minutes ago, Matt96 said:

it was just a mistake of a government official and a an abuse of an appearance of those Thai-looking with US passports. the system is never perfect.

 

"No matter what I said or did I couldn't get in at the Thai price" you don't need to say anything. just show Thai id (if you have one) like all Thais do if any questions asked.

 

you are not a citizen of Thailand? pay a foreigner's price!

Ok ... why should I pay 20 baht for a bottle of water in the local mom and pop store when Thais pay 8 baht?

Why should I pay double Thai price for motorcycle taxis?

Why should I pay "big tip" in restaurants?

 

No one ever asks for a Thai ID card. They look at the colour of my skin.

[DDbkh]

I went to a well known golf course outside Bangkok with a farang friend and his Thai wife. When we paid we were charged Thb 1000 more than his wife. When we queried this they said it was a special promotion for Thais. We showed our 5 year driving licenses to prove we were not tourists but to no avail. So we said that we would put this on the internet - after some frantic phone calls an extremely attractive woman arrived who immediately gave us the discount and her phone number with the instruction to call her next time we want to play. I don't think my friend has been allowed to play there again!

[Falcon]

5 hours ago, scubachild said:

 I know that is against our western sensibilities to pay more but a little bit more wouldn't be unreasonable   Let's not forget Thai people rarely have the chance to travel overseas as us westerners do. 

You seem to forget that a lot of us live here permanently and are either married or working or both and if working, a lot of people are working for salaries similar to a middle class Thai person and paying taxes exactly the same as a Thai so why should we who live here permanently pay these rip off prices? 

[smotherb]

8 hours ago, manarak said:

Smile!

It is a victory for green environmentalists!

They do that everywhere in the world: pass some law to blow up the costs immensely, and then frustrated people stay away while business owners can only sit and cry.

So, you think the Thai environmentalists convinced both the park system and the boat operators to increase their prices?  I think the majority "green" involvement here is the greenback dollar.

[Matt96]

3 minutes ago, Falcon said:

You seem to forget that a lot of us live here permanently and are either married or working or both and if working, a lot of people are working for salaries similar to a middle class Thai person and paying taxes exactly the same as a Thai so why should we who live here permanently pay these rip off prices? 

living here permanently does not make you a Thai. Thais are co- owners of the land of Thailand and therefore get a discount. you are not.

[kannot]

5 hours ago, PatOngo said:

How long is a piece of string?

hopefully  long  enuff so they can hang themselves

[kannot]

56 minutes ago, Matt96 said:

the best answer of all!

 

farang's travel problem are not Thai's. that's why Thais at their own country  charge foreigners as much as they wish.

Then whine and  bitch when people dont come

[Matt96]

11 minutes ago, petedk said:

Ok ... why should I pay 20 baht for a bottle of water in the local mom and pop store when Thais pay 8 baht?

Why should I pay double Thai price for motorcycle taxis?

Why should I pay "big tip" in restaurants?

 

No one ever asks for a Thai ID card. They look at the colour of my skin.

"why should I pay 20 baht for a bottle of water in the local mom and pop store when Thais pay 8 baht?" because the seller charges you so. you can either pay or buy water somewhere else.

 

national parks are unique. so you either pay asked price or never see them in person.

 

"Why should I pay double Thai price for motorcycle taxis?" because they agree to drive you for that price. it's not up to you to decide how much to pay for a ride. it's up to them. but it's up to you is it accept the deal or reject it.

 

"No one ever asks for a Thai ID card. They look at the colour of my skin" because  in 99% of cases color of the skin corresponds with citizenship. if you are not agree with that you can always prove your citizenship.

[petedk]

22 minutes ago, petedk said:

It is racial.

 

I was with a group of 10 to 12 Americans (American passports... can't speak Thai). We went to see a a famous sight.

They were charged 20 baht but I was charged 200 Baht. I didn't go in.

 

Why is it racial? Those guys were sons and daughters of Thais who moved to USA 40 years ago. This was their first trip to Thailand. Skin colour and nothing else.

 

I speak Thai, have lived here 20 years. No matter what I said or did I couldn't get in at the Thai price. Needless to say, I didn't say anything about them not being Thai.

I forgot to add one thing.

 

I have been to Wat Pragaew 4 or 5 times and have never paid to get in.

It is possible to negotiate with sensible people

[TEFLKrabi]

Usually if business is down the Thais like to raise the price to make up the shortfall. Fair play to these guys for wanting to lower the price. 200 is still not perfect but much more reasonable, especially if you have a family. 

[timewilltell]

1 hour ago, Matt96 said:

this is you, as many foreigners, are paying to bend the law  -  get a WP without Thai staff, get a pesion visa without real money in the  bank etc.

with  your money you are trying to get what you have no right for. with your money you corrupt the system. the system of people who allowed you in. who trusted you.

that's why Thailand does not need people like you. who think they can buy anything with their money.

 

"When they show an example and clean up their act at  the very top, then we will be able to talk about morality and country benefits.  "

oh, really?

"make me happy and may be I will  follow your laws" this is your justification for corrupting the life of people who treat you as a guest?

 

how pathetic.

 

no way. when you asked for visa you signed an obligation to follow the law of host country. and buy breaking this promise you cause harm to people who trusted you. who let you in.

 

some Thais break the law? it none of your business. follow your obligations.

Yeah?  Funny way to treat your 'guests'.  Let them charge whatever they want for all the crap they want you to go to see which mother nature provided and they do their utmost to screw up.  Don't bother going and leave them sitting in their little cubby holes picking their noses.  Eventually things will change if corruption is refused at every level.  Paying into their retirement funds for the absolutely zero benefit provided is not for me.

[timewilltell]

8 minutes ago, Matt96 said:

"why should I pay 20 baht for a bottle of water in the local mom and pop store when Thais pay 8 baht?" because the seller charges you so. you can either pay or buy water somewhere else.

 

national parks are unique. so you either pay asked price or never see them in person.

 

"Why should I pay double Thai price for motorcycle taxis?" because they agree to drive you for that price. it's not up to you to decide how much to pay for a ride. it's up to them. but it's up to you is it accept the deal or reject it.

 

"No one ever asks for a Thai ID card. They look at the colour of my skin" because  in 99% of cases color of the skin corresponds with citizenship. if you are not agree with that you can always prove your citizenship.

What absolute twaddle.  This is racism, greed, corruption and lies - the foremost traits of a particular skin colour it seems.  Don't Thai me!

[natway09]

Don't we Farangs get our tits in a tangle when it comes to money.

I bet in your home country there are such things as "local discount cards etc" that give you a substantial discount 

on places of interest