Phuketwan PriceWATCH Economic Analysis
HIGH PRICES in Patong have brought a flurry of complaints from tourists and an investigation by the local tessaban council.
A small beer that costs 33 baht in a shop almost everywhere on the island cost anywhere between 80 baht and 120 baht in some bars in Patong.
A stick of steamed corn that costs 10 baht in Phuket City will cost at least 20 baht in Patong. There are no price controls in Phuket's leading west coast tourist haven.
Some shops and stalls are also guilty of double-pricing, charging tourists rates that are much higher than what they charge Thais.
Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob said yesterday that there should be standard prices for all items, and the items should be clearly labelled with the prices.
Complaints by tourists concerned everything from tuk-tuks to drink prices and the cost of souvenirs.
Because the island's central administration at Provincial Hall in Phuket City has had so many tourists and honorary consuls contact them to complain, the governor asked the Patong tessaban to investigate.
Deputy Patong Mayor Chairat Sukhban told Phuketwan that he had been to visit shops and stalls along the beach road in Patong to check both prices, signage and the overcrowding of stalls.
He said commissions paid to attract tour groups were sometimes passed on to customers, making prices even higher.
The cost of renting any kind of retail or entertainment space in Patong is the highest on the island, with a small stall of less than two metres in width costing 35,000 baht a month in rent alone.
Franchises, including McDonald's and Starbucks, also have to pay more for prime positions in Patong, passing the cost on to customers.
In some cases, parking tuk-tuk drivers demand and get free drinks from nearby stallholders, which means prices for genuine customers have to be higher to compensate.
More intense competition for tourists who have less money to spend has also encouraged a growing number of touts of all kinds, which in turn generates more complaints.
Commissions to go-betweens inevitably makes the prices for tourists even higher.
Patong's economy is also complicated by the presence of large numbers of illegal workers. While making the point that her research was not qualitative, Austrian academic Bianca Gantner talked to employees in 42 small Patong tourist shops earlier this year.
Have you ever been ripped off in Patong? Please tell us your experience in the Comment box below
''Burmese employees (especially those with Nepalese roots) are demanded because of their ability to speak English,'' she said.
''They are often talented sales people. They are not bothered about working seven days a week from 10am to 12:30am, and they are not fussed about having to stay longer in a shop if there is good business (Thai employees would go home on time).''
Illegal Burmese workers in Patong fall into two categories: they either pay off authorities, or they hide and run every time they see an approaching official.
''I am led to believe that the number of Burmese working in shops in Patong is probably more than 50 percent of the total staff in all shops,'' Ms Gantner said.
Apart from the exceptionally high cost of renting space and bribes to officials, the employment of Burmese at minimum wages in many shops should, in theory, mean lower prices.
However, there are no official checks or controls of any kind on Patong prices.
The Office of Commercial Affairs, Phuket, checks a range of prices each month to measure inflation, but sticks to a set range of standard goods and supermarket items.
Rip-offs of one kind or another on Phuket are thought to be the main reason why tourists who visit the island once sometimes decide never to return.
Have you ever been ripped off in Patong? Please tell us your experience in the Comment box below
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Perhaps the gov should look into the Patong hospital, a government run hospital, that double prices between Thai and farang.
That is, of course, unless this is pure window dressing.
Posted by LivinLOS on November 19, 2009 12:28