PHUKET is full of surprises. Take this coming Thursday, for example, when more than 200 jet-skis are expected to be brought to Patong Bay for an unanticipated celebration.

Expect a crowd, because sometime after 9am Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob plans to take to the water on a jet-ski . . . although probably not one belonging to ''JJ'' Naiman.

Can the governor jump a wave with the best of them?

We'll find out soon enough about that, and whether the newly introduced jet-ski registration and insurance scheme provides adequate protection for tourists from the hirers who once benefitted from extortion scams.

All the signs, though, are positive for once. You have to hope times are changing for the better on Phuket.

The coincidental alignment of a string of complaints from diplomats with the showing of 'Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand' on British television helped to drive the issue in the right direction, with the governor knifing neatly across the wave.

There are plenty of other issues waiting to be resolved. Governor Wichai has done well in such a short time to become a bold advocate for change.

The Senate Committee on Tourism, so horrified by the collateral damage done to Thailand's image on YouTube, would be best advised to go to see these things for themselves, as the governor has made a habit of doing.

And that is, coincidentally, just what the maker of the 'Big Trouble' series did. Is that a crime? We don't think so.

Trying to stop You Tube from airing evidence of the pitfalls tourists encounter in Thailand is not the answer. Replacing corrupt and shoddy practices with honesty and efficiency: that's what has to happen.

The need for action has been clearly demonstrated this year by exposure of the duty free extortion scam at Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Phuket's long-standing jet-ski rip-offs.

The rights and wrongs of how these shoddy criminal acts came to be exposed is not really important. Fixing the problems permanently is what should happen.

Are there other causes for alarm, time bombs that will eventually explode, cracking Thailand's wholesome tourism image wide open?

Of course there are. Most of them would quickly become evident if members of the Senate committee spent time around the island posing as tourists, especially after dark.

And more YouTube footage is required, not less. Transparency is the key to showing the world that Thailand can overcome entrenched corruption, which is at the heart of most of Phuket's problems.

Governor Wichai, whose skills as a firewalker were shown on billboards during the Vegetarian Festival, has ably demonstrated what can be done with a little nous.

From March, when the governor is due for compulsory retirement, someone else will have to test their skills on the hot coals and the Patong waves.

It's to be hoped that the diplomatic community continues to highlight cases where tourists suffer abuse on Phuket, along with Thailand's wholesome image.

And who knows? Perhaps we might even see some more overseas visitors, along with members of the Senate Committee on Tourism, back here again soon.