TIMESHARE property touts on motorcycles are pestering tourists along the Karon beachfront.
In some cases, the touts are also selling tours. Phuketwan was invited yesterday to observe the touts in action and three were spotted in the space of 30 minutes.
Two of the two-wheel touts were expats and the third was a Thai woman.
Mayor Tawee Tongchiam said: ''Municipal officers can make arrests every day. There is a law prohibiting selling this way.
''But these people just pay a 500 baht fine and they are back in action very quickly. It's frustrating and not good for Phuket tourism.''
What the touts are offering, Phuketwan was told, is the old time-share come-on of T-shirts and other gifts in exchange for taking part in a ''survey.''
The hope is that the tourists, perhaps enjoying their holiday, will sign up to buy on the spur of the moment. Many instant decisions are later regretted.
The touts pick up a commission for every signature. In good times, when the beaches are more crowded, touts have taken to walking along the sand from lounger to lounger, too.
That kind of selling is seen as lacking in principle because the motivation to purchase comes from a tout, not the prospective buyers themselves.
The touts usually plague tourists on foot along the beach road in Patong but making themselves mobile enables them to pick off people walking along the lengthy stretch of road that fronts Karon beach.
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In some cases, the touts are also selling tours. Phuketwan was invited yesterday to observe the touts in action and three were spotted in the space of 30 minutes.
Two of the two-wheel touts were expats and the third was a Thai woman.
Mayor Tawee Tongchiam said: ''Municipal officers can make arrests every day. There is a law prohibiting selling this way.
''But these people just pay a 500 baht fine and they are back in action very quickly. It's frustrating and not good for Phuket tourism.''
What the touts are offering, Phuketwan was told, is the old time-share come-on of T-shirts and other gifts in exchange for taking part in a ''survey.''
The hope is that the tourists, perhaps enjoying their holiday, will sign up to buy on the spur of the moment. Many instant decisions are later regretted.
The touts pick up a commission for every signature. In good times, when the beaches are more crowded, touts have taken to walking along the sand from lounger to lounger, too.
That kind of selling is seen as lacking in principle because the motivation to purchase comes from a tout, not the prospective buyers themselves.
The touts usually plague tourists on foot along the beach road in Patong but making themselves mobile enables them to pick off people walking along the lengthy stretch of road that fronts Karon beach.
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Our no 2 complaint from customers in our hotel is aggressive time share sales on the roads. It would do a great service to tourists to legalize and control time share operators. Some companies are honest and do a professional job, some are just ripping off customers.
Posted by Wolfgang.Meusburger on June 23, 2009 11:32