Tragic accident, but erecting warning signs on all wet slippery rocks on Phuket or anywhere else seems rather unrealistic.

Posted by Sherlock on November 21, 2013 19:07

Pray for Gao Yang

Posted by Foxism on November 21, 2013 22:21

[quote]
Incidents such as this one are rare at the cape,
[/quote]

They are rare, but I recall reading of tourist deaths at this location on previous occasions.

Whilst some may question the stupidity of these young men to clamber over slippery rocks and risk their lives for a photo, actions by tourists on many occasions (for example, the many drownings), demonstrates that many tourists, especially those who visit from land-locked countries, simply do not comprehend the dangers of the sea.

What's the answer? My own suggestion would be to fund a new team of Tourist Assistance Officers, (not tourist police), whose job would be to look after visiting tourists, just as a mother looks after her precious baby.

These would not be volunteer roles - each member would receive a realistic wage, and positions would be open to either Thai or foreign nationals.

Those team members would be stationed at each and every location where tourists gather, such as the Cape, all beaches, bus station, airport etc etc.

Expensive to fund? Overkill? The cost would be a drop in the ocean when compared to the continuing damage done to Phuket's reputation by these deaths and accidents.

Phuket needs to look after each and every tourist, even the stupid and naive ones.

Simon

Posted by Simon Luttrell on November 22, 2013 06:58

@ Simon "Phuket needs to look after each and every tourist, even the stupid and naive ones."

Totally agree. Some of these tourists come from landlocked countries or safe countries like Singapore and do not know the true nature of the sea.
Some sort of education to warn them not to underestimate nature would be good, an introductory video on their flights over to Thailand, something running on Phuket cable channels that a majority of the hotels are using.

Posted by May on November 22, 2013 10:46

missing tourist's body? We are still hoping him to come back.

Posted by Anonymous on November 22, 2013 14:21

Wall said Simon and a good suggestion made.

Park Rangers in the US offer such assistance, among other duties and often provide interesting information about the site most would otherwise miss.

However to suggest to Phuket authorities they should spend money on visitors in ways that do not result in direct, verifiable revenue and profit is like flogging a dead horse.

Posted by ThaiMike on November 22, 2013 14:29

Why would a sign have prevented this unlucky fellow to do what he did? That is just guesswork. An educated guess would be, that he would not care or even noticed the sign, as he thought himself capable of handling the obvious: the stones, the wet and the water. A sensations seeker, lethally misjudging a situation. RIP.

This kind of accident is quite common btw. mostly with angler washed away from stones.

Posted by Lena on November 22, 2013 22:09