Pattaya told: Clean up your act – or else
PATTAYA: Pattaya’s tourism leaders have been warned that they must address the destination’s plunging image or risk a downturn in visitor numbers.
The Thai resort has seen an increasing number of violent incidents involving tourists, the most serious of which was the murder of two Russian women who were shot while sitting in deckchairs on the beach drinking Thai whisky.
Recently, the Nation newspaper, under the headline “Time to Clean up Pattaya” said, “This crime must not go unsolved. At stake is not only Pattaya’s status as a world-famous resort but also the image of the Thai tourism industry as whole.“
Police have a suspect for the murders in custody.
A seminar last week at Pattaya City Hall exposed the pressing problem of the vulnerability of the tourism industry in Thailand.
The Pattaya Daily Post reported, “From previously being a thriving business, the tourism industry has suffered a sharp decline this year due to bad press in the foreign media.
“The crucial issues which have resulted in the tourist business suffering a downturn include major assaults and murders of foreign tourists, petty criminals choosing tourists as easy victims and local shopkeepers and street vendors short-changing and otherwise cheating tourists.
“Unlike other years, the fact that local crime has been aimed at tourists has received world-wide coverage in the media, largely due to tourist murders.”
Conference delegates were told that every effort must be made to remedy the situation and radically improve Pattaya’s international image to avoid further damage to the tourism industry in Thailand.
Ian Jarrett
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