THE NEW Superintendent of Phuket Immigration, Police Colonel Panuwat Ruamrak, plans a new data base to keep Phuket free of expat trouble-makers. He has already met with about 10 honorary consuls on Phuket and aims to improve relations with all diplomatic representatives.
German Honorary Consul Dirk Naumann said today that the move was ''very positive'' and that corruption, a distinguishing feature some time ago of Immigration on Phuket, no longer seemed to be evident.
Mr Naumann said the new approach by Immigration, along with the first group meeting of honorary consuls with the governor earlier this year, were positive steps towards solving some of the island's key issues, especially public transport.
Today Colonel Panuwat met Australian honorary consul and resort owner Larry Cunningham, who told him that Phuket ''still has very big problems.'' But he added: ''This governor is doing more that all the past governors.
''The tuk-tuk problem especially has to be fixed.''
Mr Cunningham said that Bali was rising again as a rival for Phuket because tourists were spreading the word about ''the tuk-tuks, the jet-skis, the mafia, the extortion by police.''
''If visitors have a good time, they will tell four or five people,'' Mr Cunningham said. ''If they have a bad time, they will tell 40 or 50 people.''
Mr Cunningham said that because he was a resort owner as well as honorary consul, he was very aware of the negatives on Phuket and wanted them to be corrected as soon as possible.
''It costs 500 baht for a 15-minute journey between Surin and Patong,'' Mr Cunningham said. ''That is extremely expensive.''
Yet, he added, the island represented good value in other ways.
''I took five people to lunch in Rawai recently and it cost me $50,'' he said. ''In Australia it would cost me 10 times that.''
He also said that the changes that the island needs had to be driven from Bangkok by the national government.
''Most of the local Phuket news media do not report the problems, and the Bangkok Post and the Nation never mention them,'' he said. ''As a result, the government in Bangkok does not know what's happening.''
Colonel Panuwat said that the motto of the Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Lieutenant General Wooti Lippatapanlop, was: ''Make Phuket Clean and Safe.'' As a former Director of Tourism, Lt General Wooti understood the issues well, Colonel Panuwat said.
He said he planned to report regularly on the situation on Phuket and would make sure the information was passed to the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Department.
German Honorary Consul Dirk Naumann said today that the move was ''very positive'' and that corruption, a distinguishing feature some time ago of Immigration on Phuket, no longer seemed to be evident.
Mr Naumann said the new approach by Immigration, along with the first group meeting of honorary consuls with the governor earlier this year, were positive steps towards solving some of the island's key issues, especially public transport.
Today Colonel Panuwat met Australian honorary consul and resort owner Larry Cunningham, who told him that Phuket ''still has very big problems.'' But he added: ''This governor is doing more that all the past governors.
''The tuk-tuk problem especially has to be fixed.''
Mr Cunningham said that Bali was rising again as a rival for Phuket because tourists were spreading the word about ''the tuk-tuks, the jet-skis, the mafia, the extortion by police.''
''If visitors have a good time, they will tell four or five people,'' Mr Cunningham said. ''If they have a bad time, they will tell 40 or 50 people.''
Mr Cunningham said that because he was a resort owner as well as honorary consul, he was very aware of the negatives on Phuket and wanted them to be corrected as soon as possible.
''It costs 500 baht for a 15-minute journey between Surin and Patong,'' Mr Cunningham said. ''That is extremely expensive.''
Yet, he added, the island represented good value in other ways.
''I took five people to lunch in Rawai recently and it cost me $50,'' he said. ''In Australia it would cost me 10 times that.''
He also said that the changes that the island needs had to be driven from Bangkok by the national government.
''Most of the local Phuket news media do not report the problems, and the Bangkok Post and the Nation never mention them,'' he said. ''As a result, the government in Bangkok does not know what's happening.''
Colonel Panuwat said that the motto of the Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Lieutenant General Wooti Lippatapanlop, was: ''Make Phuket Clean and Safe.'' As a former Director of Tourism, Lt General Wooti understood the issues well, Colonel Panuwat said.
He said he planned to report regularly on the situation on Phuket and would make sure the information was passed to the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Department.
''I took five people to lunch in Rawai recently and it cost me $50,'' he said. ''In Australia it would cost me 10 times that.''
So in Australia it costs $100 per person? I don't think so.
Editor: It would depend on the restaurant and the lunch. But seafood in Sydney, say? $100 a head would not be unusual.
Posted by chris on March 17, 2010 17:01