PHUKET: Back in February, the outstanding candidate for Phuketwan Phuket Innovation of the Year emerged: the 10 percent zone at beaches for umbrellas and services.
There was a brief challenge for a time from the Central Festival underpass, which opened in April.
However, while Phuket is likely to gain at least four more underpasses - if at a tediously slow rate in some cases - there is only ever likely to be one ''10 percent zone.''
As far as we are able to determine, the concept is unique to Phuket. If it has been tried somewhere else around the globe, the people who implemented the concept are not exactly boasting about it.
The award represents an unusual year-on-year double for Phuket because last year's Innovation of the Year award went to the military for clearing all sunbeds and other private commerce from all of Phuket's beaches.
That move caused consternation and concern but it made sense because the law that declared all of Thailand's beaches were for the public was clearly being abused.
There were thousands of visiting tourists, though, who enjoyed the abuse, lying under umbrellas on the sunbeds that on popular beaches, covered virtually every spare grain of sand.
The displaced sun, sea and sand layabouts complained long and loud, but it did no good.
The Phuket authorities even found it difficult to understand that Westerners could not get up and down from thin foam mats with the same ease as Thais, so the sunbeds were practical and necessary.
With the beaches being reorganised, jet-ski and parasail operators were granted a much larger slice of Phuket's premium swimming beach, Patong. The way the beach is now segmented gives their touts effortless access to customers.
Instead of the noisy, polluting machines being kept in separate areas away from swimmers, it's the swimmers who are corralled in rings of buoys to keep them safe from the machines.
The fact that polls consistently show that three out of four tourists and residents want the jet-skis and parasails banned from the island's beaches has had zero impact on the authorities.
There is no longer even the slightest pretence of Thailand's laws being upheld. The jet-skis and parasailers, briefly confined to the water, now sprawl across Patong's sands, wherever they want.
They rule.
This is the great puzzle of Phuket, the fact that the law so clearly is imposed for sensible reasons on some, yet ignored when it comes to others.
The jet-skis and parasailers will only survive at Patong and other beaches as long as there are touts doing illegal private business on the sand.
Other vendors, reduced hugely in number and restricted to the 10 percent zone, remain resentful.
Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat is the man who has the difficult task of making the ''10 percent zones'' work.
The idea was proposed by former Governor Nisit Jansomwong because he believed ''poor'' beach workers needed the opportunity.
However, the Mayors of Patong and Cherng Talay say there are no poor workers on Phuket's beaches.
Vice Governor Chokdee told a meeting earlier this month that the future of the jet-skis and parasails on Phuket depends on the success of the ''10 percent zones.''
If the ''10 percent zones'' fail to work, the jet-skis and the parasails will have to go, too.
For this reason, we cannot wait until the day comes when Phuket's authorities give up on this exceptionally bad idea.
Confining tourists who bring their own umbrellas to the ''10 percent zone'' is ridiculous.
The Commander of Phuket police says that Thais and tourists are entitled to bring their own equipment to Phuket's beaches and sit wherever they like. No law can stop them.
The vice governor's response is to propose that people on beach chairs or under umbrellas outside the zones will be ''invited'' to move into the zones.
We believe most people can see how wrong this concept is and how it will inevitably one day deliver yet more harmful and damaging international publicity for Phuket.
The original clearance of Phuket's beaches had the potential to be a fresh start for a more environmentally friendly approach.
A ban on jet-skis and parasails - in accordance with Thai law - would have brought Phuket into line with the neighboring provinces of Krabi and Phang Nga.
Instead, the beaches of the island remain torn between a future attuned with nature and the present rulers of the sands, the jet-ski and parasail operators.
Just how much the whole fiasco has cost Thailand in terms of lost tourism euros, we daren't contemplate. And this sandy farce not over yet.
*Previous winners of the Phuket Innovation of the Year have included the 'Safer Phuket' initiative, Thanyapura Phuket, the honorary consuls meetings, the Tin Mine Museum, the court mediation system, Ao Po Grand Marina and the Red Mountain Golf Course.
Phuketwan ceases publication on December 31.
There was a brief challenge for a time from the Central Festival underpass, which opened in April.
However, while Phuket is likely to gain at least four more underpasses - if at a tediously slow rate in some cases - there is only ever likely to be one ''10 percent zone.''
As far as we are able to determine, the concept is unique to Phuket. If it has been tried somewhere else around the globe, the people who implemented the concept are not exactly boasting about it.
The award represents an unusual year-on-year double for Phuket because last year's Innovation of the Year award went to the military for clearing all sunbeds and other private commerce from all of Phuket's beaches.
That move caused consternation and concern but it made sense because the law that declared all of Thailand's beaches were for the public was clearly being abused.
There were thousands of visiting tourists, though, who enjoyed the abuse, lying under umbrellas on the sunbeds that on popular beaches, covered virtually every spare grain of sand.
The displaced sun, sea and sand layabouts complained long and loud, but it did no good.
The Phuket authorities even found it difficult to understand that Westerners could not get up and down from thin foam mats with the same ease as Thais, so the sunbeds were practical and necessary.
With the beaches being reorganised, jet-ski and parasail operators were granted a much larger slice of Phuket's premium swimming beach, Patong. The way the beach is now segmented gives their touts effortless access to customers.
Instead of the noisy, polluting machines being kept in separate areas away from swimmers, it's the swimmers who are corralled in rings of buoys to keep them safe from the machines.
The fact that polls consistently show that three out of four tourists and residents want the jet-skis and parasails banned from the island's beaches has had zero impact on the authorities.
There is no longer even the slightest pretence of Thailand's laws being upheld. The jet-skis and parasailers, briefly confined to the water, now sprawl across Patong's sands, wherever they want.
They rule.
This is the great puzzle of Phuket, the fact that the law so clearly is imposed for sensible reasons on some, yet ignored when it comes to others.
The jet-skis and parasailers will only survive at Patong and other beaches as long as there are touts doing illegal private business on the sand.
Other vendors, reduced hugely in number and restricted to the 10 percent zone, remain resentful.
Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat is the man who has the difficult task of making the ''10 percent zones'' work.
The idea was proposed by former Governor Nisit Jansomwong because he believed ''poor'' beach workers needed the opportunity.
However, the Mayors of Patong and Cherng Talay say there are no poor workers on Phuket's beaches.
Vice Governor Chokdee told a meeting earlier this month that the future of the jet-skis and parasails on Phuket depends on the success of the ''10 percent zones.''
If the ''10 percent zones'' fail to work, the jet-skis and the parasails will have to go, too.
For this reason, we cannot wait until the day comes when Phuket's authorities give up on this exceptionally bad idea.
Confining tourists who bring their own umbrellas to the ''10 percent zone'' is ridiculous.
The Commander of Phuket police says that Thais and tourists are entitled to bring their own equipment to Phuket's beaches and sit wherever they like. No law can stop them.
The vice governor's response is to propose that people on beach chairs or under umbrellas outside the zones will be ''invited'' to move into the zones.
We believe most people can see how wrong this concept is and how it will inevitably one day deliver yet more harmful and damaging international publicity for Phuket.
The original clearance of Phuket's beaches had the potential to be a fresh start for a more environmentally friendly approach.
A ban on jet-skis and parasails - in accordance with Thai law - would have brought Phuket into line with the neighboring provinces of Krabi and Phang Nga.
Instead, the beaches of the island remain torn between a future attuned with nature and the present rulers of the sands, the jet-ski and parasail operators.
Just how much the whole fiasco has cost Thailand in terms of lost tourism euros, we daren't contemplate. And this sandy farce not over yet.
*Previous winners of the Phuket Innovation of the Year have included the 'Safer Phuket' initiative, Thanyapura Phuket, the honorary consuls meetings, the Tin Mine Museum, the court mediation system, Ao Po Grand Marina and the Red Mountain Golf Course.
Phuketwan ceases publication on December 31.
Great article: nail hammer and head.
The saddest part though is the last sentence: Phuketwan ceases publication on December 31. You guys will be dearly missed, all the best in your futures, whatever and where ever that might be.
Posted by Pink Glasses on December 19, 2015 17:39
Editor Comment:
Thanks, Pink Glasses.