Today's Updating News Report
PHUKET: The decision by the Governor of Phuket to allow tourists to place their own chairs and umbrellas on Phuket's beaches was welcomed today by the German ambassador in a meeting with the administration.
The meeting with five ambassadors from Bangkok was closed to the media, as was another meeting proceeding at the same time at the headquarters of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation about national plans to control the Phuket ''mafia.''
Suppression of media coverage is a new trend on Phuket, where most important meetings, especially those involving international representatives, have been open in recent years.
The closure of key meetings encourages people who believe covering up all ''bad news'' is in Phuket's best interests. Phuketwan believes reporting all news, good and bad, is important in any democracy.
Although the meeting was in private, Phuketwan understands it was cordial and positive, with German ambassador .Peter Prugel thanking Governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada for his welcome - and for allowing tourists to bring their own equipment to beaches.
The ambassador called for the relocation of jet-skis and parasail speedboats ''to ensure the safety of swimmers.''
''The jet-ski issue is a major issue,'' he said. ''People must be protected and allowed to swim without risk.''
He added that the taking of passports in hiring motorcycles was not acceptable. The issue of jet-ski and motorcycle scams continued to be raised, he said. ''Passports cannot be taken as a guarantee,'' the ambassador added.
While the number of complaints about ''outrageous taxi fares'' had not been raised as frequently as previously, tourists raised the issue ''again and again.''
Netherlands ambassador Karel Hartogh welcomed the governor's decision to try to make Phuket more natural like its neighboring provinces, Krabi and Phang Nga, and added that this was ''a matter of urgency'' with a dropoff of between 10 percent and 25 percent in Dutch visitors.
Beach and marine safety continued to be a high priority, said Canadian ambassador Philip Calvert: ''I know you have been putting a lot of effort into controlling jet-skis and managing them close to the beach where they could harm swimmers.''
He asked what regulations and safety standards applied to parasailers to protect others on the beach.
Irish Ambassador Brendan Rogers said he expected Ireland's 70,000 visitors to Thailand each year to behave responsibly.
Summarising the issues, he said it was about ''safety, security, jet-skis and motorcycles.''
''It's about wearing helmets, it's about preventing scams, it's about good service, and it's about insurance so that if something goes wrong, everybody is protected.''
A Phuket official told Phuketwan that today's meeting was closed to the media at the request of the ambassadors but declined to say which ambassador had made the request.
I have long advocated moving jetskis off of west coast beaches, as they are simply incompatible with recreational swimming areas. There are many areas along the east coast that are safer for the jetskis and generally void of swimmers. Seems like the Marine Safety Office should establish a motorized water park, so all jet skis would operate with some controls, and anyone wanting to ride the obnoxious machines can go do so without destroying the ambiance for everyone else that is just trying to enjoy a safe and peaceful day on the beach.
Posted by Richard Vickers on November 23, 2015 14:59
Editor Comment:
The flaw in that idea is that touts find customers among the visitors to the west coast beaches. Very few people would go to the east coast specifically to ride jet-skis, certainly not enough to keep the island's 286 jet-ski operators in business.