PHUKET: With the Phuket high season beginning today, Governor Maitree Intrusud braved drizzle on Patong beach yesterday to demonstrate that tourists should have no fear of the holiday island's jet-ski operators.
And today he launches the full-on tourism season by joining a meeting aimed at enhancing transport and reducing tantrums on Phuket, talking with Department of Special Investigation officers.
This afternoon he greets British Ambassador Mark Kent, who with other European Union envoys initiated a campaign earlier this year to ''clean up'' Phuket.
Governor Maitree has made the most of photo opportunities to entice tourists to Phuket since his mid-year head-to-head with the EU ambassadors, and yesterday journalists were invited to act out the role of tourists hiring jet-skis.
There was not a single jet-ski collision or an inflated claim for damages of the kind that has brought bad publicity over the past few years.
Intimidation? Thuggery? The jet-ski operators introduced to the media yesterday by the governor were warm and charming, perfect ambassadors for Phuket.
Have the problems with the jet-skis finally been sorted?
Governor Maitree has certainly been highly visible in the past few months, organising seminars for jet-ski operators and those other maligned people, Phuket's taxi and tuk-tuk drivers.
If all the people who manage Phuket's 286 jet-skis are as hospitable as the small group that journalists were introduced to yesterday, tourists have no reason not to flock to Patong beach to try a jet-ski for themselves.
Three real tourists from Japan arrived on the beach and were given instructions in their native language on how to ride a jet-ski and what to do if they had problems.
Off they went, to enjoy their high-speed interlude amid the natural beauty of Patong Bay.
Those visitors who prefer their beaches free from the noise of jet-skis and parasailers will, of course, continue to turn left instead of right as they leave Phuket International Airport and settle for Krabi or Phang Nga instead.
And today he launches the full-on tourism season by joining a meeting aimed at enhancing transport and reducing tantrums on Phuket, talking with Department of Special Investigation officers.
This afternoon he greets British Ambassador Mark Kent, who with other European Union envoys initiated a campaign earlier this year to ''clean up'' Phuket.
Governor Maitree has made the most of photo opportunities to entice tourists to Phuket since his mid-year head-to-head with the EU ambassadors, and yesterday journalists were invited to act out the role of tourists hiring jet-skis.
There was not a single jet-ski collision or an inflated claim for damages of the kind that has brought bad publicity over the past few years.
Intimidation? Thuggery? The jet-ski operators introduced to the media yesterday by the governor were warm and charming, perfect ambassadors for Phuket.
Have the problems with the jet-skis finally been sorted?
Governor Maitree has certainly been highly visible in the past few months, organising seminars for jet-ski operators and those other maligned people, Phuket's taxi and tuk-tuk drivers.
If all the people who manage Phuket's 286 jet-skis are as hospitable as the small group that journalists were introduced to yesterday, tourists have no reason not to flock to Patong beach to try a jet-ski for themselves.
Three real tourists from Japan arrived on the beach and were given instructions in their native language on how to ride a jet-ski and what to do if they had problems.
Off they went, to enjoy their high-speed interlude amid the natural beauty of Patong Bay.
Those visitors who prefer their beaches free from the noise of jet-skis and parasailers will, of course, continue to turn left instead of right as they leave Phuket International Airport and settle for Krabi or Phang Nga instead.
Sorry but I am a cynic and will continue to advise mt friends going to Phuket to avoid Jet Skis until I can see some real improvement.
Posted by Arthur on November 1, 2013 13:50