Pattaya to be cleaned up and become family destination?

[Spitfire]

Seems like the NCPO have Pattaya in their sights too, crackdowns have begun (especially on transgenders) and the authorities have been quoted as wanting to get rid of the 'Sin City' tag, prostitution and all manner of illegal touts etc. in order to turn it into a family holiday destination.

Read here for full story from BBK Post.......

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politic ... up-its-act

Thing is though, that all these people that make Pattaya what it is have to be somewhere and can't just retrain or change professions at the 'flip-of-a-coin'.

There will be many upset locals over this, from girls to business owners to noodle shops and beauty parlours. It's hard to imagine just how many people make a living indirectly off all these girls, renters of stuff and heaven knows who else that is grinding away in the streets trying to make a few baht.

Even if the authorities got their wish, then all these people they don't want there have to be somewhere and won't just meekly go home to their families and comply with the idea of disappearing. They will fragment and disperse to other places and attempt to carry on with the only thing they know how to make money. They may well have underestimated the sheer magnetude of what they are proposing.

Seems, once again, they are tackling the symptoms and not the causes. What could go wrong?

[JamesWest]

yes i have been saying since May 22 that they are going to do it this time.

it might take a few years but you can say good bye to soi cowboy and nana too...

[Korkenzieher]

Well, after all the recent upheavals all I can say is - some people ought to be more careful what they wish for, because it might come true. Som nam nah!

[STEVE G]

Here is another side to things where people are looking towards a growth in Asian tourism:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asi ... 37542.html

[PeteC]

^ Quite honestly, the place isn't even near Pattaya, it's on the outskirts of Sattahip. Plenty of hotels, restaurants and cleaner sea in the immediate area where a tourist or local doesn't even have to enter any of Pattaya proper at all if they don't want to. The author probably hasn't even visited the area. Pete

EDIT: It give a better example, it's like saying a Cha-Am attraction is really in Hua Hin.

[theprice01]

As much as i dislike Pattaya, i dont think it should change, the beauty of Thailand is that almost every town/city offers something different and theres plenty of areas in Thailand which are family friendly.
If they try to 'Westernise' Thailand too much, it'll keeps people away rather then attract them.
Each place serves its own purpose i think.

[richard]

^^ I agree but would you like to tell that to the Thai authorities please. I think you'd get laughed out of the room and labelled as a dumb farang

[Lung Per]

I hope they will NOT clean up Pattaya. The smut has got to be somewhere.

[Pleng]

I hope they will NOT clean up Pattaya. The smut has got to be somewhere.

Right on... your default response to pretty much anything in the Night Crawlers section would need to be rethought

[Lung Per]

I hope they will NOT clean up Pattaya. The smut has got to be somewhere.

Right on... your default response to pretty much anything in the Night Crawlers section would need to be rethought

Yes, what a dreadful thought!

[sateeb]

But it's OK for you to ask where you can some short time poontang in Burma...Are you as better class of sexpat???

[Pleng]

Maybe it's a case of NIMBY?

Anyway, I'm sure this cleanup operation will be just as successful as the new heavy-handed enforcement of the alcohol promotion laws. Anybody notice that all the beer girls, branded umbrellas and table covers, and promotions have all dispersed?

No, me neither!

[europtimiste]

I hope Pattaya will be always Pattaya as it is. Same for Patong in Phuket. What will be Bangkok without Patpong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy ?

[Nereus]

I am sure this type of BS will be a big help for tourism:

06/ Sep/ 2014
Beach Chair Operator Bullies Foreign Tourist on Koh Larn

http://www.pattaya-funtown.com/news.html

Land of Smiles? A YouTube clip showing an argument between a pushy beach chair operator and a female foreign tourist on Koh Larn has drawn increased calls for a cleanup of Thailand's beaches.
The clip was uploaded to YouTube on Friday only and has already been viewed more than 100,000 times. The video shows a foreign woman of unknown nationality being approached by a deckchair vendor at Koh Larn's Nang Nual beach as she sits on a towel in the sand. The Bangkok Post: "The man tells the woman she has to leave the spot and rent a chair and umbrella from him instead. The tourist initially refuses but later starts to pack up her things. The man walks around her, kicking sand into her beach towel. The angry tourist gets up and flings her sand-filled towel at the man, who responds by pushing her away. The pair argue briefly and the woman walks away."..................................

[Big Boy]

Thanks - I saw the clip a couple of days ago. I guessed what was going on, but this sort of confirms it.

Thoughts: Is this somebody's way of justifying a clean up over there, in the same that over-charging was brought to the fore as justification here?