Pattaya

Pattaya’s reinvention successful – “TAT strongly opposes any form of sex tourism”

Published

5 months ago

July 25, 2018

The Thaiger

From an article in today’s South China Morning Post website…

Nestled on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 100km from Bangkok, Pattaya is one of Asia’s most popular tourist attractions, ranking number eight on of the list of top 20 destinations across Asia by international overnight arrivals, according to Mastercard’s Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017. It is also notorious as Thailand’s sex capital, an unwanted epithet the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has worked hard to dispel.

And it has worked, or so says Tanes Petsuwan, TAT’s deputy governor for marketing communications. Speaking to travel industry publication TTG Asia in June, he announced, “Pattaya has reinvented itself for upscale travellers.”

The resort city’s seedy reputation is said to have originated during the Vietnam war, when American troops stationed in the region started to visit what was then a sleepy fishing village, becoming so taken by the local hospitality that they returned in ever greater numbers. As they did so, R&R establishments sprang up to cater to the GIs’ every need and the Pattaya we recognise today was born – by 2012, men outnumbered women in the city, with almost six men for every four women, according to numbers provided to Reuters by TAT.

“TAT ensures that its marketing strategy and policy to move Thailand forward as the ‘Quality Destination’ has stepped in the right direction… and strongly opposes any form of sex tourism.”

In April 2017, the Royal Thai Police launched the first of its efforts to clean up Pattaya’s seedy image, opening the euphemistically monikered “Happy Zone” along the central Walking Street entertainment district. Unfortunately, this was somewhat overshadowed by a raid on an illegal orgy just weeks later.

Happy indeed.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

Pattaya

Two die in Pattaya ferry engine room tragedy

Published

12 hours ago

December 10, 2018

The Thaiger & The Nation

Two die in Pattaya ferry engine room tragedy | The Thaiger

by Theerawat Thongma and Dethawee Theewarangkool

Two workers have died and another three remain in critical condition after allegedly inhaling toxic fumes when they were cleaning a boat-restaurant’s engine room.

The vessel was anchored at a pier off Chon Buri province yesterday.

Muang Pattaya precinct superintendent Pol Colonel Apichai Krobphetch led a rescue team to head tot he scene of the incident at 11.30am.

They found the five workers who had reportedly passed out while cleaning the engine room of the Nava Chakkapat.

At this stage it’s believed they all succumbed to toxic fumes, as the ventilation system had not been switched on.

When police and emergency responders arrived they found one worker dead at the scene, and another died whilst being rushed to hospital.

The names of the victims have not been released at this stage. Police are investigating the incident to determine the cause of death before deciding on any further legal action.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Nation

Pattaya

72 year old fined 500 baht for blocking ambulance

Published

2 days ago

December 8, 2018

The Thaiger & The Nation

72 year old fined 500 baht for blocking ambulance | The Thaiger

by Preewadi Khunnaklad. PHOTO: The Nation

A 72 year old white sedan driver, caught on camera as the person behind the wheel of a car blocking an ambulance on Sukhumvit Road in Chon Buri’s Muang district, has been fined 500 baht as he acknowledged the charge of driving in a manner to block traffic.

Muang Chon Buri superintendent Pol Colonel Atinan Nuchanart says that Prawit Boonthaneepakorn, who was accompanied by his daughter and car owner, met the police superintendent to explain his side of the story on Thursday.

Read the original report and see the video HERE.

The elderly man claims he was ‘astonished’ by the siren and flashing lights and froze. As he paid the fine, the man said he apologised to the ill person in the ambulance and hoped the patient recovered quickly.

The incident, which was resolved by the ambulance having to push into another lane, was caught on camera and the clip went viral on Thai social media, attracting widespread criticism.

SOURCE: The Nation

Pattaya

Pattaya’s reclaimed beaches are washing away

Published

3 days ago

December 7, 2018

The Thaiger

PHOTO: Pattaya Mail

All the money and effort Pattaya has spent to rebuild its beach is being wasted through little or no maintenance. This is the opinion shared with Pattaya News by tourists to the region.

Numerous visitors have told Pattaya Mail reporters about weeds, moss and water-filled gouges running through the northernmost part of the beach near the Dusit Thani Hotel in Pattaya.

They say the low-lying beach is suffering constant inundation from storm run-off flowing across the Beach Road and taking some of the new sand out to sea. The water is cutting channels into the newly replaced sand areas and wild grass and moss is growing there.

Additionally, tourists say there is uncollected rubbish which is rotting there as well. Tourists and expats point out that Pattaya has spent more than a 500 million baht to repair its beach, but aren’t spending the relatively little money to keep it looking beautiful.