Coss Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Not wanting to distract from the Soccer Player Diving Rescuing going on up north, but Thursday (4 days ago), a boat sank in Phuket. Many dead. Divers who entered the wreck of a tour boat that sank in a storm off the southern Thai resort island of Phuket described heartbreaking scenes of bodies of children found in the arms of their mothers, as the search continued Saturday for 15 mostly Chinese tourists missing in a disaster that has left dozens dead. The death toll from Thursday's tragedy climbed to 41, in Thailand's biggest tourist-related disaster in years. It was not clear how many of the dead and missing were Chinese. In announcing a previous death toll of 33, authorities said all of those victims were Chinese. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12085538 I do hope the soccer boys make it out OK. The Chinese Tourists, however, I am truly sad for. You don't pay money, to go to a picture perfect, stunning brochure photograph, holiday destination and then, after finding out, that Phuket is over run by a zillion people and carpeted with litter, get yourself drowned, along with the other tourists crammed onto a boat (if history is any guide) more suitable for the wrecking yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 No one should be going out in boats at Phuket this time of year. The tourist boat operators involved have all lost their licenses, and I expect charges will be brought against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted July 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 I get twitchy at the thought of getting on a boat in LOS, Laos or Vietnam. In part because I've spent my life in boats and I can see a boat's unseaworthiness at a glance. Also because I went on a derelict tourist boat in Ha Long bay, luckily it was dead calm. And a river ferry in Laos that was very near to depositing my car, MLG, my daughter and me into the Mekong. I just don't trust SEA and boats. See what I did there? South East Asia... SEA? geddit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted July 11, 2018 Report Share Posted July 11, 2018 Feels bad especially for the kids. This said: 1 Chinese tourists = Not using their brains, like in Bohol (Philippines) me and my family hired a small banca but from a 5 stars hotel + with life jackets + it was just island hopping so never too far from the shore while at the same time we witnessed a big group of Chinese tourists (+some western couples) climbing onboard a bigger banca -> 0 life jackets visible and even our own skipper said that big banca could at most safely carry 30-40 people while the tourists were obviouly many more than 80-100......+ me, my wife and our child can swim. 2 Greedy captains unsafe boats -> TISEA (This Is South East Asia) 3 Read a storm was on its way, is that true? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 11, 2018 Report Share Posted July 11, 2018 There was a warning that boats shouldn't go out. These captains both ignored it. Talk now that the Thai companies that own them are both actually a front for Chinese owners. Photo from: Siraphop Srakaew's Facebook Cargo ship hit by huge waves off Trang, 17 containers washed overboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baa99 Posted July 11, 2018 Report Share Posted July 11, 2018 It is quite common for the Chinese to be on a tour package, so they didn't select the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 Tour packages are something I avoid, as I do like my freedom and time to think about some activity that is there just to make a quick profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Govt offers free dinner, free visa too .......sharp fall in the number of Chinese visitors, has cast a shadow over the country’s economic outlook. “Overall arrivals in October totalled 2.7 million, down 0.5 percentage point from the previous year, due to a sharp drop in Chinese tourists,” permanent secretary for Tourism and Sport Ministry, Pongpanu Svetarundra, told a news briefing on November 21. Since the Phuket boat tragedy in July, the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand dropped by 12 per cent in August, 15 per cent in September and nearly 20 per cent in October. Around 646,000 Chinese tourists visited the Kingdom last month, registering a drop of 19.8 percentage points year on year. Tourism revenue from the Chinese market fell by 16.5 per cent to Bt34.6 billion....... http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Tourism/30359396 cause - effect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 And it turned out the boat was owned by a false company actually owned by a Chinese national. Also ... " After Hong Kong and Macau, the most popular destination for Chinese travellers in 2017 was Thailand, with almost 10 million visits. This was despite the Thai Government crackdown in late 2016 targeting "zero-dollar" package tours, under which tourists pay for food and accommodation upfront, with much of the payments for travel bookings siphoned off through foreign-national intermediaries. Japan was the next most popular destination for Chinese travellers in 2017, followed by Vietnam and South Korea." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now