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Thailand Must End Jet-Ski Takeover
By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian Sunday, June 21, 2015
PHUKET: Pressure is mounting for Thailand's national government to intervene to ban jet-skis on Phuket.
The noisy, polluting machines are disliked by the vast majority of tourists and banned in Phuket's neighboring provinces.
Yet the island's most popular swimming beach, Patong, has virtually been taken over by jet-ski operators with any official limits proving pointless.
The jet-ski operators now virtually rule the beach. The boundary buoys that once marked where jet-skis could go have vanished.
In an exclusive interview with Phuketwan this week, the Director-General of the Marine Department, Dr Jula Sukmanop, on a visit to Phuket, admitted that there were no laws that allowed jet-skis to be properly registered or hired out legally to tourists.
Phuketwan believes the jet-ski operators of Phuket appear to have unusual influence that works against the best interests of the holiday island and its future.
A Phuket where jet-skis were banned would set new standards for environmental friendliness and encourage tourists to return to a destination where nature takes precedence.
The mystery is how and why jet-skis, once due to be phased out on Phuket over seven years, have been allowed to grow in number and spread to places where they were - and sometimes still are - banned.
Phuketwan believes that advocates of the jet-skis have lobbied administrators and persuaded them that jet-ski are something that tourists want.
The exact opposite is true, as local newspaper polls show time and time again. The vast majority of people want Phuket's beaches cleared of jet-skis.
Dr Jula was unable to provide a justification for the jet-skis being on Phuket's beaches, other than saying that the machines, despite the fact they were not legal, needed to be recorded and insured for the safety of the tourists.
Many years ago, the present Chief of Marine Office 5, Phuripat Theerakulpisut, was involved in the meetings aimed at phasing out the jet-skis.
But it never happened. Scams, intimidation and rip-offs have continued without interruption.
Because jet-ski insurance does not cover more than 50,000 baht in damage or time out of the water, altercations with tourists inevitably involve excessive claims and often are accompanied by threats.
Since his return to Phuket, Khun Phuripat has been a consistent advocate for the jet-skis despite being repeatedly made aware of the thuggery and intimidation that continues to occur, especially at Patong beach.
Back in 2010, Khun Phuripat told Phuketwan: ''How they are controlled is the key. Jet-ski are not only bad.
''If we just stopped and kicked them out, that would be easy.
''The hard part is how to keep them on our side, and follow regulations. If they will get kicked out, they will go to other occupations and maybe make trouble.
''Corruption begins when people are not earning enough. The existing problems can be solved by good management. Everything we have to solve together.''
We believe that time is up on Khun Phuripat's attempts to control the jet-skis.
Since 2010, it has been clearly proven that the jet-skis remain illegal and cannot be controlled and that the only rational solution is for them to go.
This would bring Phuket in line with its wiser neighboring provinces of Phang Nga and Krabi, where jet-skis have been banned for years.
With Thailand's military still in power and able to enforce their decisions, any potential dangers should no longer be a reason for not ridding Phuket of jet-skis. Now is the right time.
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Comments
Comments have been disabled for this article.
... or alternatively , I suggest to call Haad PaTong "Jet-Ski Middle West Foothold", Haad NaiHarn "JetSki FootHold of Rising Sun" and so the others, and every sub-district involved should call for a public tender to provide the best name in Thai thereof, and put necessary signage in the vicinity, on the approach and in the middle of the relevant place of interest.
Posted by
Sue
on
June 21, 2015 12:01
Hmm, well let's hope someone LISTENS for a change, Mr Editor. But i'm not holding my breath. As you say, they should have been phased out years ago, yet they still operate with impunity.
Posted by
jimbo34
on
June 21, 2015 12:20
I am not a supporter of the jet ski's, but there is something odd here in the story. If the majority of the tourists don't want jet ski's, why were they able to grow and grow? Is this not because there is a lot of demand of people that want to ride these machines? The business would die automatically if there were no people/tourists that used them. So, clearly, there is still a major group of people all through the year that want to experience the thrill of riding a jet ski. ( with the risk of being intimidated , robbed and / or beaten up )
Posted by
Carl
on
June 21, 2015 12:21
Editor Comment:
The demand is grown by touts, Carl, just as the demand for lewd ping-pong shows and time-share in Patong is created and grown by touts.
Its simple - make a law that only allows persons to ride a jet ski with a PWC licence. If the rental companies are caught renting to persons without a licence hold the company responsable - job done !!
Posted by
Bob hope
on
June 21, 2015 12:24
Good article, but why are people allowed to drive this dangerous machines, without any proper license to do so.
People could believe, that some authorities benefits form this illegal activities, which is no good for Phuket's reputation.
Posted by
Sherlock
on
June 21, 2015 12:55
I couldn't agree more with your very well written and to the point article. Although I won't be holding my breath.
Posted by
Jim McGowan
on
June 21, 2015 13:30
Now is the time,100% correct.If the PM just arrived one day and saw first hand how they have ruined the beaches, they would all be gone by sunset
Posted by
john
on
June 21, 2015 14:29
I think many Thai officials could be comedy writers in disguise.
Posted by
Tbs
on
June 21, 2015 15:16
Get rid of these troublemakers once and for all. As for them turning to crime, get the police to arrest them for crimes they commit.
Posted by
Duncan B
on
June 21, 2015 15:48
Now they're planning the crime of the century
Well what will it be?
Read all about their schemes and adventuring,
Yes, it's well worth a fee
So roll up and see
How they rape the universe
How they gone from bad to worse
Who are these men of lust, greed and glory?
Rip off the masks and let's see . . .
Thanks Super Tramp, Crime of the century, sums it all up.
Posted by
Robin S
on
June 21, 2015 16:05
How did the giant tortoise grow extinct? Well it grew complacent. After all, it was an island species???
Posted by
Sam Wilko
on
June 21, 2015 17:02
The pictures in the photo album of the speedboat sums up so much. Safety first, huh? And refuelling on the beach... I thought that was banned with the rejig of the jet ski zones by the Marine Office, perhaps I remember wrong...
Posted by
Duncan
on
June 21, 2015 19:42
What is blatantly obvious is Khun Phuripat neither listens or cares what tourists think. He has done diddly squat to stop the rip offs by these people. I see him as part of the problem not the solution.
Posted by
Arun Muruga
on
June 21, 2015 19:48
Ed,
'The demand is grown by touts,'
That is a very myopic. If there was no demand there would be no customers, thus no money to be made no matter how many touts there were.
The truth is there is demand from a small percentage of tourists and from that percentage there is money to be made.
The real argument against the jet ski's:
Is what this small minority want worth the disruption and loss of large portions of the beaches for the majority and the pollution and safety issues.
To use a famous quote "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few"
Bob hope: Riding jet ski's already requires a licence. Just there is zero enforcement (quite the opposite actually) unless there is an accident and then only against the driver. It is also at this point that most people find their travel insurance does not cover them as they were engaged in an technically illegal activity
Posted by
Lashay
on
June 21, 2015 20:04
I agree they should all be gone, and was happy when they gave the seven year deadline, to allow the people to find other jobs/training that didn't work.
Other once popular shops have had to move with times with the digital age internet cafes, photo developing etc. The money these guys have earned and scammed over the years they should have enough for a hotel each.
But wonder about all the super yachts planned they usually have a compliment of jets skis
Posted by
Michael
on
June 21, 2015 20:52
Even simple orders of Phuket Marine 5 Office are ignored by the jet ski people ( no jet skies on the sand, only in the water). On PW photos I see jet ski on the sand.
Posted by
Kurt
on
June 21, 2015 22:25
After winning your case against the Thai navy you should start bringing back the good side of tourism in Phuket. Like when you had the stories about where to eat the best noodle soup. The water park opening. Or the great hospital stories. Showing some extra for guests.
Lately it is less tourist wan then ever. Only tourist died here, there and over there. Mystery, suicide or accidents. Killing of big fish, turtle or dolphin, destroying corals, etcpp.
You shall give us some light in all the dark. Do not forget.
Posted by
Lena
on
June 21, 2015 23:51
Editor Comment:
In defending ourselves we have had to find extra time by cutting some articles. As you quite rightly point out, restaurant reviews appear less often. This is what happens when one or two officers bring an unjust case on behalf of the Royal Thai Navy. Win or lose, PW may not survive.
every time there is an infraction of the law involving a jet ski, confiscate and destroy it, problems will either be cleaned up or go away in short order.
Posted by
mike
on
June 22, 2015 00:07
Simple answer - the ARMY should impound and destroy the jet-skis. It worked for removing the illegal shops and restaurants.
Posted by
Andy
on
June 22, 2015 13:43
This fiasco reminds of the this scenario. You drive down the road and you see a good looking restaurant, but it is empty. Do you go inside, no. Further on you see a not so grand looking restaurant, it's almost full. Do you go in, hang yes sir.
Why, well the locals know the good places to eat and if the place is full, it stands to reason that the food must be good.
Let the tourist numbers drop through the trap-door. When the tourists see the beaches are empty at high season, it will set the mark for future years to come . . don't go there it can't be any good.
So, let your fingers do the walking through the online pages.
Posted by
Anno
on
June 22, 2015 13:48
How influential are the Phuket authorities, including Phuket marine 5 Office, not being able/not willing to put a end to the international embarrassment regarding the Phuket Jet ski 'industry'?
Posted by
Kurt
on
June 22, 2015 15:43
Setting up an official commission with representatives of the government, tourism associations and local folks would be the first step to decide about the fate of jet-ski and parasailing.
Posted by
Whistle-Blower
on
June 22, 2015 17:48
WB,
In theory your idea has merit but only if the intention of participants is to solve a known problem. I'm not sure, from the actions taken to date, that is the case.
The purpose of running any business is to maximise profit by maintaining existing customers and seeking out new and building up goodwill. The business will grow, profit will increase.
The beach activities in question are not based on return custom but purely to maximise profit from numerous single or one off deals. They could make 1,000 Baht from 50 customers over a period of time or 50,000 Baht from one unsuspecting customer. Neither the 50 or single person are going to use the service again, or not at least until their next visit.
Some of the 50 people may return next year, the majority will not. Who cares?
Not the jet ski operator, not the local authorities, not the local businesses as most are trying to achieve the same but using less aggressive tactics.
So a few tourists got burnt and complained but 100,000 didn't, had a good holiday and went home happy.
We focus on the few who were ripped off by these businesses. I'm not saying it should be ignored but during the same period there were probably more complaints about tourists being mugged, or pick pocketed, fights over bar bills, ATM scams and injuries from bike accidents.
I certainly don't like jet skies but there are 4 separate issues with them that become merged due to the extortion rackets users are often subjected to.
The other issues are; the dangers to swimmers due to lack of enforcement, pollution and environmental issues and the allocation of space on beaches.
If the damage scams did not occur and they were not ridden amongst swimmers would there be the same hatred?
If they were allocated a space at one end of each beach and were keep say 400m away from the shore line would they be so disliked?
If the operators were reasonably friendly towards other beach users would there be the same objections?
If the scams were not allowed to continue would any of these businesses survive?
If authorities enforced licence requirements how do they then justify not enforcing the same for, I assume, millions of unlicensed motor bike riders?
Are the jet skies really the biggest problem to deal with in the scale of other issues that should be addressed?
A few tourists complain. So what?
The problem of foreigners coming here and complaining is insignificant. The locals aren't complaining, its their country, we are employed to look after them. If a tourist doesn't like it, don't come back. We will replace you with the Chinese and TAT says they spend more money.
Posted by
MoW
on
June 22, 2015 20:10
MoW, your quote "If the damage scams did not occur and they were not ridden amongst swimmers would there be the same hatred?"
The answer is YES.
As long as the sun chairs and the beach service is gone because it is not allowed on a public beach in Thailand and the Jet-skis are supposed to be against the Thai law (still operating) there will be no understanding among quality tourists that love Phuket and its natural beauty.
As you say, bring in the mass tourism for one day profit only and Phuket will remain dead without quality.
The Phuket beaches was supposed to get back to "nature status" to attract quality tourist so what have that to do with parachutes and Jet-skis??
Why not transform the beaches into waterparks with slides, shooting ranges, putting greens, latex sell shops, elephant tracking, big view point tower and some lottery stands with a casino.
That would obviously suit the kind of tourist that come now days come to Phuket.
So be it then...
Posted by
A Joe
on
June 22, 2015 21:52
@ MoW, You are very right!
If the foreign tourists not like the present situation they can go elsewhere. ( Many do).
Actually many locals are complaining. Did you miss that?
Or did you just miss the fact that locals do not 'seek' the law enforcement when it comes to the illegal jet ski business?
Posted by
Kurt
on
June 23, 2015 00:43
WB
I am quite surprised by your opinion that local authorities - who are no one else as local rich people who want to become even better off, or ones who are already have economic interests in the area, can be called to act against their interests? The argument of sustainability actually is not very strong, if you take purely economic slice of motivation.
Agree with MoW that jetskis vicious circle can't be solved locally.
Only by imposition "from above", be it Sec.44 or similar measures.
Posted by
Sue
on
June 23, 2015 01:02
Kurt,
Are there really many locals complaining about jet skis?. If there is, yes, I have missed it.
Local people don't seek enforcement of jet skis because not only do they not use them, they also don't expect enforcement of many other laws and use some of these to derive income.
Phuket and other tourist destinations are just a magnet for those people who realise it is easier to earn money from a tourist than slaving away in a rural labor intensive job.
They decide on what product a tourist may want, or look at what other shops are selling successfully, set up a stall and are now self employed. It doesn't matter to them that 5 shops on either side are selling the exact same product because they know that even if they only sell a few products each day, they will still make more money than in any alternative job.
10 similar shops, 10 customers, we should on average get 1 out of 10 sales.
So now because of many reasons, whether that be inflated prices, scams, alternative destinations or just that Phuket is not what it used to be, there are less people or customers. No longer can each of the 10 similar shops support themselves with reduced sales. The tourists they talk to are the returning ones, those who became feed up just don't come back. If some come back each year there cannot be a problem, right?
What they don't realise is that what is occurring today has been happening for the last decade. The only difference being that numbers have been maintained or increasing because the number of people travelling overseas has increased at high rates due to affordability.
Now on the decline, either because of domestic reasons or due to the many alternative destinations, the original customer base is reducing. Their business was successfully based on this type of customer and the new boost of tourists from other countries do not buy the same products.
They start searching for answers. It cannot possibly be the jet skis, tuk tuks or the inflated prices as they have always been here and the tourists kept coming. It has to be something else?
It cannot be the commission touts as they have always been here. It must be something else.
It is then associated as being caused by the most visible change which is the removal of beach chairs and associated services. That's why our customer numbers have decreased so if we could just go back to the zero enforcement days, everything will return to normal.
Their answer. Return to the bad old days, zero enforcement, where everybody does as they want and we will all be happy and return to making money.
Could you imagine Phuket where even the most basic laws were enforced and if this place existed, would many people go there?
Part of the interest in a place like Phuket is the chaos, the risks, the contrast to our normal lives at home and the entertainment value of how all the issues that we know and understand somehow survive together, feeding off each other and still, tourists keep arriving albeit not in the same numbers as did previously.
Anyway I better go and pick up my garbage bin from the curb now in case a local council officer fines me for not bringing it inside the boundary.
Posted by
MoW
on
June 23, 2015 06:23
A Joe,
Consider the problem local authorities have right now. Some people are happy the beach chairs are gone, some want them back, some want them just reduced, some want control, some want Phuket to return to a more natural state and some want beach chairs and service providers waiting on them all day.
Who should they please?. What laws should be enforced, what should be ignored?
Sometimes when faced with so many opinions it may be easier for them to do nothing, not make any decision and not risk offending those that profit.
I understand it not right but to those in charge, it is the easiest option.
Posted by
MoW
on
June 23, 2015 06:41
The jetski's make 1500-2000 THB for 1/2 hour. Imagaine investing 200,000 THB in a machine that makes that much money. You only need 1 rider a day to live a very good life even if paying bribes to be there. They will do anything to keep it. They do not care about anyones feelings. They make a lot of money for very little effort. Similar to a taxi but htey do not make as much but more than normal rates of other places.
Posted by
jiminkata
on
June 23, 2015 07:15
MOW. You are right and there is tremendous confusion among the tourists that have come back for years and not only among the decision makers.
Well, of what I can understand the Jet-ski business is one of the biggest reason that the law is not enforced on all areas on the beaches. Easy because the greedy people that want to milk tourists point finger at the Jet-skis and parachutes and says:
Why can they make money on a public beach and not us??
It is hard to answer that question so silence is best for the decision makers.
Posted by
A Joe
on
June 23, 2015 09:17
Jet ski operators should be fined for as much as they have ripped off from tourists. Many tourists no longer come to Thailand after being scammed by these operator dogs.
ATM fee is a discrimination against tourists so should be removed to benefit mutually.
taxi driver should be fined for not using meter all the time unless requested by tourists. Shameful for no honesty.
Beer price should be adjusted fairly to neighboring countries such as China.
Thailand is not a part of USA or Europe so the price should rather logically matched to Asia such as China,...
Bus operator stealing properties of tourists in overnight bus should be fined and banned from operation.
Anyway, a lot of inhonesty committed repeatly should be ended immediately to benefit mutually, tourists happy feeling safe and more tourists for Thailand.
Posted by
Jefery
on
June 23, 2015 09:54
There are no mysteries !!!
Just follow the smell of easy money.
Everyone knows it.
It is very serious that this situation continues for years.
Posted by
Manu
on
June 29, 2015 12:27
There is something in the business make-up of some Thais that totally perplexes me.
The jet-ski/sunbed shamble highlights this:
Thai people (generally) seem to think that any financial target is a "one-shot only" event. They see tourist come to Thailand, ride a jet-ski once, then leave. Conversely, a sun-bed hirer is repeat business over the period of the individual tourists stay.
You have to ask yourself: who and why is suppressing the opportunity to establish good business practice (sunbeds) and supporting "one-shot" rip-offs (jet-skis) with no hope of repeat business.
My partner on Samui has a well-established business creating and selling traditional Thai desserts. They are sold out every morning at her local market, purchased by both local and tourists. Her popularity is only by word-of-mouth and the majority is repeat business. This provides a stable, regular income for both her and her staff.
To me this make much sense yet around me - jet--skis, taxis, tuk-tuk rape and pillage behavior is rampant.
I don't believe this is the fault of these drivers and operators. It is the fault of those who have allowed them to develop this way.
Posted by
LennyJ
on
July 26, 2015 09:52
the parasail Operators are too aggressive also thinking they own the beach with their stupid whistles.
Posted by
Rattlez
on
September 7, 2015 10:17
Editor Comment:
Yes. It's amazing to see them ordering people to clear the way. What a farce.
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... or alternatively , I suggest to call Haad PaTong "Jet-Ski Middle West Foothold", Haad NaiHarn "JetSki FootHold of Rising Sun" and so the others, and every sub-district involved should call for a public tender to provide the best name in Thai thereof, and put necessary signage in the vicinity, on the approach and in the middle of the relevant place of interest.
Posted by Sue on June 21, 2015 12:01