PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong promised today that police will not be handing brochures to tourists or confiscating beach chairs and umbrellas from tourists.
There was one month left in his three-month experiment to devote 10 percent of all of Phuket's beaches to umbrella hire and provision of services, the governor said.
Hours before the governor made his promise to Phuket's horoary consuls, local Mayor Ma-Ann Samran led 20 volunteers on a raid to seize tables, chairs and umbrellas at an illegal beach restaurant at Phuket's Lay Pang beach.
The mayor - sometimes wrongly portrayed as a ''president'' - said that checks would continue to be made in his Cherng Talay region on a daily basis to ensure nothing illegal was happening on the beaches.
The six tables, 18 chairs and 10 umbrellas confiscated today were carted off when nobody claimed ownership. The local authorities believe they know the name of the owner, but he was nowhere to be found today.
Cherng Talay police will make further inquiries. Mats and other equipment from previous raids are now piling up at Cherng Talay council offices.
A little later, Governor Nisit told honorary consuls that from now on, brochures and information would go into all resorts on Phuket so tourists could understand new rules.
''It could take up to one year for tourists to learn what's changed on Phuket,,'' he said.
Prince of Songkhla University was doing a survey, the governor said.
Dutch honorary consul Seven Smulders said it would be good if the university interviewed the consuls about their feedback from tourists.
At a meeting at the university a couple of weeks ago, a resort manager noticed that the Songkhla survey did not even included the prospect of leaving the beaches fully cleared, the way they all were after the Army moved along them in June last year.
If ''no commerce at all'' is not included in the Songkhla survey, questions should be raised about whether the survey is genuine or skewed in favor of commercial interests.
Swiss honorary consul Andrea Kotas Tammathin asked why there was a difference between the approach in Pattaya and Phuket.
Governor Nisit said provincial management varied. There was a huge number of beach chairs in Pattaya, and it was now being reduced by a tender process.
One person would operate the beach chairs and umbrellas.
''On Phuket the reasons for change are different,'' he said. ''There is a conflict between groups, so I cannot operate a tendering process.''
The governor said he wanted to protect the beaches. ''Our beaches have been destroyed enough,'' he said.
''That's why we need no alcohol, no smoking on the beaches. I would like the tourists to respect our rules as well.''
Phuketwan and other critics of the 10 percent scheme believe the system will be seen to work during the low season but fail when there are many more tourists on the beaches next high season.
Better to abolish all commercial activity and let tourists bring their own umbrellas and chairs, PW believes.
There was one month left in his three-month experiment to devote 10 percent of all of Phuket's beaches to umbrella hire and provision of services, the governor said.
Hours before the governor made his promise to Phuket's horoary consuls, local Mayor Ma-Ann Samran led 20 volunteers on a raid to seize tables, chairs and umbrellas at an illegal beach restaurant at Phuket's Lay Pang beach.
The mayor - sometimes wrongly portrayed as a ''president'' - said that checks would continue to be made in his Cherng Talay region on a daily basis to ensure nothing illegal was happening on the beaches.
The six tables, 18 chairs and 10 umbrellas confiscated today were carted off when nobody claimed ownership. The local authorities believe they know the name of the owner, but he was nowhere to be found today.
Cherng Talay police will make further inquiries. Mats and other equipment from previous raids are now piling up at Cherng Talay council offices.
A little later, Governor Nisit told honorary consuls that from now on, brochures and information would go into all resorts on Phuket so tourists could understand new rules.
''It could take up to one year for tourists to learn what's changed on Phuket,,'' he said.
Prince of Songkhla University was doing a survey, the governor said.
Dutch honorary consul Seven Smulders said it would be good if the university interviewed the consuls about their feedback from tourists.
At a meeting at the university a couple of weeks ago, a resort manager noticed that the Songkhla survey did not even included the prospect of leaving the beaches fully cleared, the way they all were after the Army moved along them in June last year.
If ''no commerce at all'' is not included in the Songkhla survey, questions should be raised about whether the survey is genuine or skewed in favor of commercial interests.
Swiss honorary consul Andrea Kotas Tammathin asked why there was a difference between the approach in Pattaya and Phuket.
Governor Nisit said provincial management varied. There was a huge number of beach chairs in Pattaya, and it was now being reduced by a tender process.
One person would operate the beach chairs and umbrellas.
''On Phuket the reasons for change are different,'' he said. ''There is a conflict between groups, so I cannot operate a tendering process.''
The governor said he wanted to protect the beaches. ''Our beaches have been destroyed enough,'' he said.
''That's why we need no alcohol, no smoking on the beaches. I would like the tourists to respect our rules as well.''
Phuketwan and other critics of the 10 percent scheme believe the system will be seen to work during the low season but fail when there are many more tourists on the beaches next high season.
Better to abolish all commercial activity and let tourists bring their own umbrellas and chairs, PW believes.
Why bother? Nothing has changed. Scores die or are maimed on the roads. Women continue to be exploited, copyright continues to be breached and ignorance prevails - only a fool would say otherwise. If they still have the freedom to express their bigotry, of course.
Posted by gee on April 21, 2015 20:57
Editor Comment:
The statement of a mindless Doomsayer, gee, a person who wallows in misery. Without people speaking out, positive change will never come. Unless people speak out, change will be for the worse.
You don't seem to get it.