Thailand to screen for quality tourists. And Martial Law tourism!

[Obsession 571]

It's like tourist industry suicide.

 

Screen for quality tourists.Will it exclude sex tourists!

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pm-wants-quality-tourists-visit-thailand/

 

Visit a country under martial law......as a selling point!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-29615419

 

I think they are forgetting that two young Brits were killed under martial law, so the safety angle may not work.

[Nightrider 340]

In a nutshell................

[Gabor 296]

Pattaya to be rebranded a World sports destination

 

http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/NewsEN/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNECO5710140010007

[MeGoDanceNow 4,281]

I regard mongering as a sport. We should call it sport fucking.

 

Catch and release.

[atlas2 4,329]

If 'sleeping' and 'red-tape' were Olympic sports then……...

[MM 6,562]

I continue to be surprised and amazed by the gaffes this guy makes on nearly every subject that he is asked about.

 

Will it ever end?

[Harvey 249]

That moment when, after screening a thread title and being sure it's just snarky humor, you dig down and realize that it's all true. What a laugh.

 

A couple of Russian "tourists of quality" were harassing a baht bus driver in front of Central Festival today and backing traffic up.

 

Get 'em!

[MM 6,562]

That moment when, after screening a thread title and being sure it's just snarky humor, you dig down and realize that it's all true. What a laugh.

 

A couple of Russian "tourists of quality" were harassing a baht bus driver in front of Central Festival today and backing traffic up.

 

Get 'em!

There is SO MUCH more I'd like to say, especially to those who thought it was a good thing to have the military take over in what was obviously an engineered setup against the populist democracy that had existed.

 

Oh yes, Thailand had corruption, and now they think it's getting cleaned up? Haha. It's just moving the money to different pockets. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...except worse, because nobody can vote the establishment/army out of power anymore..it's built into the new constitution coming up.

 

Actually, why even bother to have a constitution? There is no representation and the rule of law was tossed out when the junta abrogated the constitution anyway.Just accept the fact it's an undemocratic government, make laws and rules that suit the whims of Mr. P or his successors., and stop trying to sugar coat it with a "constitution" that just gives them the right to appoint their cronies in controlling numbers in parliament anyway.

 

Oh well. Never mind. Not my business.I just feel sad for the Thai people that have to be represented by such a system..it must be very embarrassing.

[Chris100UK 520]

I'm selfish. I'd like to see a regime that turns a blind eye to nudity in gogo's, late opening hours, erotic shows etc...

 

...but clamps down on Taxi mafia, jet ski scams, patpong clip joints. Basically any of those rip offs that are backed up with the threat of violence.

[MM 6,562]

I'm selfish. I'd like to see a regime that turns a blind eye to nudity in gogo's, late opening hours, erotic shows etc...

 

...but clamps down on Taxi mafia, jet ski scams, patpong clip joints. Basically any of those rip offs that are backed up with the threat of violence.

Have you seen any improvement in any of the items you mentioned? I haven't.

Don't believe the promises; look for the results.

Really, how's that solved Koh Tao murder case fitting in with your evaluation?

[Chris100UK 520]

Have you seen any improvement in any of the items you mentioned? I haven't.

Don't believe the promises; look for the results.

Really, how's that solved Koh Tao murder case fitting in with your evaluation?

 

Well, there was an attempted clean up in Phuket, where the Taxi operators and Beach workers run the place without fear of the law being upheld. I've Taxi operators commandeer parts of the beach road and shout at any Tourist who dares pull up in their unnofficial taxi rank. Woe betide anyone who questions their actions.

Good to see action taken against this lot.

 

I had hopes that they would turn the screw on Jet Ski operators in Pattaya following reports like this

http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/137077/potential-jet-ski-scam-foiled-by-pattaya-port-authorities/

...but it seems to continue.

 

However, we have also seen quite a few enforced closures of Pattaya Gogo's for various transgressions. So it's a double edged sword.

 

The intent was there to make changes and crack down on blatant lawlessness. It just hasn't been followed through. Corruption runs too deep in this country.

Corruption works to our benefit in some areas (nightlife) and to our cost in others (rip off scams).

 

Koh Tao....i don't think this has anything to do with corruption directly, i just think it's down to poor police work. The investigation is under massive scrutiny, so it would be very difficult to cover for someone and try to set others up under these conditions. We'll have to see how it plays out.

No matter who is running the country, you can not turn the Thai police into a first class investigation force over night.

[MM 6,562]

When was the last time you were in Thailand?

[jacko 8,822]

 

However, we have also seen quite a few enforced closures of Pattaya Gogo's for various transgressions. So it's a double edged sword.

 

They have been closing the odd pub and GGB for years, such actions come and go and who is in control seemed irrelevant. What changes have we seen in Pattaya, for a while M/C taxi guys were hassled a bit but is it any different now? Is there less crime in town, have the ride by grabs on the handbags and gold chains been reduced, do rental motorcycles still occupy most of the kerbside parking, does traffic stop at the red pedestrian lights and baht buses only stop at designated positions?

Nothing new here.

[MM 6,562]

Koh Tao....i don't think this has anything to do with corruption directly, i just think it's down to poor police work. The investigation is under massive scrutiny, so it would be very difficult to cover for someone and try to set others up under these conditions. We'll have to see how it plays out.

No matter who is running the country, you can not turn the Thai police into a first class investigation force over night.

 

The point is that the head guy is supporting those same Keystone cops

 

(Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday dismissed growing diplomatic concern about a police investigation into the murder of two British tourists in Thailand as a pre-trial witness hearing began.

Prayuth denied that the Thai charge d'affaires in London, Nadhavathna Krishnamra, had been summoned over concern about how Thai authorities have handled the case.

"They did not summon us. We went to provide clarification to them," Prayuth told reporters. "We went to show them how we work. They might be surprised at how quickly we work but we explained the steps we have in place."

but from the Foreign Office...

 

 

The British government said on Monday it had summoned Thailand's top diplomatic representative in London to call for the investigation to be "conducted in a fair and transparent way" amid growing concern that two Myanmar men charged with the murders may have admitted to the crimes under duress.

 

The Koh Tao situation is not a local issue, it's gone international, and the head guy is digging in his heels. Nothing wrong here, folks, keep moving, and don't say bad things, cause we don't allow that in Thailand.

[InternationalTraveler 282]

The only thing that changes here is the skyline....new condos and hotels.

Same shit.....different day.

[Chris100UK 520]

They have been closing the odd pub and GGB for years, such actions come and go and who is in control seemed irrelevant. What changes have we seen in Pattaya, for a while M/C taxi guys were hassled a bit but is it any different now? Is there less crime in town, have the ride by grabs on the handbags and gold chains been reduced, do rental motorcycles still occupy most of the kerbside parking, does traffic stop at the red pedestrian lights and baht buses only stop at designated positions?

Nothing new here.

We had a little flurry of closures/inspections at the same time (LD showcase, Ginza, Lucifer, Windmill) ...but i agree that this is not uncommon and often happens with any change of govt (democratic or not) and the shake up of who's in charge.

I don't think any Govt could immediately change random street crime. For the other things you could expect a mini crackdown when an incoming PM has a mind to do that. Like most other minor law enforcement issues though, it soon gets forgotten about. As long as policemen are getting paid/given favours they look the other way.

I'm not sure whether Senior Police or Politicians are given false reports that all issues are under control...whether they lose interest in following through...or whether they receive a cut of payments themselves (that's to say payments running right up the chain- Police receiving bribes from various quarters [gogo's, jetskis, Baht Bus Assoc.] and passing some to senior officers, who pass some to City Hall, who pass some to senior politicians etc...)?

 

When was the last time you were in Thailand?

Feb 2014

[MM 6,562]

Chris, I have to admit, I was impressed with this bunch and their stated initiatives to clean things up...but that was just talk. The entrenched corruption and local powers are much stronger in Chonburi than Phuket. They've not made a dent in any of it since their initial campaign to go after license violations and shisha smokers.

Nothing, nada, zip.

And now with the late disclosures of the Looney tunes tea leaf and sign reading of the guy, along with his penchant for denying any problems..(or else you're hauled in front of a military tribunal), I think we've seen enough to know that this cloud has no silver linings whatsoever.

[MM 6,562]

Come enjoy your vacation under martial law and the junta. You couldn't make this up.

[webfoot 29]

I give it 10 more years before walking street is minature golf, amusement parks, Ripley's Believe it or Not, shopping centers, Sea World, and Taco Bells without a gogo or beer bar in sight except for the Russian owned ones.

[Chris100UK 520]

I give it 10 more years before walking street is minature golf, amusement parks, Ripley's Believe it or Not, shopping centers, Sea World, and Taco Bells without a gogo or beer bar in sight except for the Russian owned ones.

 

I think the consensus here is that things don't change. A certain amount of corruption will always exist and gogo's (et al) will continue to operate.

 

Mongers are more hardy tourists than couples and families. They are less prone to being put off by military coup's, crime, scams, dirty beaches, congestion etc...

 

You may be right about Walking Street though. A threat to the naughty nightlife (sounding like Stickman there?) is the regular tourists swamping Pattaya and spending more on restaurants/Clubs/hotels/normal bars than mongers spend in gogo's and beer bars. The prime spots will be taken over by those who cater to 'regular' tourists.

Even then, the naughty bars will relocate to cheaper parts of town (basically further and further away from the Sea front)....so they would survive as long as mongers are happy to follow them.

 

I think the biggest threat to mongering is 'national embarassment'. If a popular leader declared a war on prostitution, or a member of a certain special family (of whom we do not speak) spoke out against it....then we would have a problem.

If this happens i will open a gogo bar in Sihanoukville and call it 'Baccara' without delay!

[Harvey 249]

I think there are a couple of different concepts being discussed in this thread.

 

1. Future and continuation of Ptty as a male playground.

 

2. Martin's discussion - which I found interesting - of the Thai constitution, public support for martial law, etc.

 

On item #1, above. That ship has sailed a long time ago. Those that decry the ongoing changes are spitting in the wind. Look at all the huge condo construction projects. These will bring new populations into the zone. GGB and BBs are losing the fight for space to other, primarily retail, entities. My personal experience horizon in the city (1998-present) -- and many of you are much older hands at this than me -- illustrates in my mind where the city is headed. It'll be primarily a beach destination. Yeah, there will be the odd BB zone like on Sois 7&8. And maybe agogos may end up on LK Metro.

 

But know this: things have been changing, slowly, for years. And that's perfectly okay. Nothing in life remains static....hell, I'm sure there are Thais who decry change and want their fishing village back. (That's not coming back either.) Bottom line: enjoy life now, while its in front of you. Don't sweat the small stuff or things you can't change.

 

On item #2, above. Martin, I only wish there were another board somewhere where you could expound on your thoughts, for I found it interesting. Just sayin'. But I would leave you with the observation that it's not uniquely Thai to support political and legal systems which are not in your best interest. Here in the states, a large number of folks do that...it's maddening/amazing/laughable to watch.

 

Keep on trucking, dudes.

[Obsession 571]

Look at all the huge condo construction projects. These will bring new populations into the .

 

Thai populations? Or quality tourists that look ugly in bikinis ( and safe from being raped and murdered, as the PM said), or people wanting a property in a military dictatorship?

 

I noticed someone post that they rented a new condo that had been vacant for a while. Are the new condos occupied?

[Chris100UK 520]

On item #1, above. That ship has sailed a long time ago. Those that decry the ongoing changes are spitting in the wind. Look at all the huge condo construction projects. These will bring new populations into the zone. GGB and BBs are losing the fight for space to other, primarily retail, entities. My personal experience horizon in the city (1998-present) -- and many of you are much older hands at this than me -- illustrates in my mind where the city is headed. It'll be primarily a beach destination. Yeah, there will be the odd BB zone like on Sois 7&8. And maybe agogos may end up on LK Metro.

 

I've been taking video of Walking Street on a yearly basis since 2005. Looking at clips from the early years, you can see Walking street was less busy back then. The new tourists boosting the numbers are mostly Russians and Indians.

 

However, there are many more gogo's around Walking Street compared with 2005. Baccara, Airport, Iron Club, Mandarin, spanky's, Angelwitch, Moon, Alcatraz, Fahrenheit, Ginza 1 and 2, Private Dancer, Sugar Baby. There is the New simon beer bar complex and the freelancer favourite Insomnia is extremely popular.

 

At this point the naughty nightlife hasn't taken much of a hit. Areas like Soi 8, Soi 2 and Soi 13 have died a natural death...whereas LK Metro and Soi Buakhao are on the up.

 

A monger coming back from a 9 year gap may not like the new demographic....but he will have more gogo options than before.

[jacko 8,822]

Mostly Chinese was my experience last night, couldn't walk down the St.

I actually walked behind the Tourist police pick-up as it was clearing a way for me, moved quite quickly but ended up dizzy and blinded from the flashing lights.

Edited October 17, 2014 by jacko

[mrlasvegas 124]

The big boss in Bangkok may be on to something. We are quality tourists. We consume a high quantity of taxable goods i.e cigarettes, alcohol,pharmaceuticals, etc. Unlike the once in a lifetime families that are quickly maxed out, we keep coming and coming. Las Vegas learned a hard lesson years ago that cost many politicians their jobs. Families are a losing tourism market. It was hard to learn and in the temporary conversion under pressure from the local government resorts lost millions. The city lost tens of millions in tax revenue. What was once amusement parks for families are now topless pools and million dollar condos that sell out quickly. Pattaya would be smart to achieve a solid balance. Going all family means serious poverty for Pattaya.