Phi Phi park chief seeks transfer after protest

Phi Phi park chief seeks transfer after protest

Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park chief Sarayut Tantien (above) has asked his boss to move him to another job. (Picture from the park Facebook account)
Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park chief Sarayut Tantien (above) has asked his boss to move him to another job. (Picture from the park Facebook account)

The chief of Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park has requested a transfer to another position after a protest by passenger boat operators against the high park entry fee levied on foreign tourists.

Sarayut Tantien has sent a letter to the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conversation Department citing health reasons for his desire to move to another post.

The request comes after boat operators blocked the entrance to the pier for Phi Phi park sites on Tuesday and Wednesday, demanding fees for foreign adults to be slashed by half, from 400 to 200 baht.

The department stood firm on Wednesday on the fees at the park.

Under the system of double-tier pricing, Thais are charged 40 baht and their children 20 baht.

Mr Sarayut, who has run the park since June 2015, said his health is deteriorating and he needs to make frequent visits to the doctor.

Boat operators complained business is falling off because many foreign visitors now consider the difference in entry fees as excessive. The current two-tier charges have been in place since 2007.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine scientist at Kasetsart University who helped Mr Sarayut develop the park in Krabi, questioned the stated motive for the rally. He claimed more tourists are visiting Noppharat Thara beach and the Phi Phi islands, and the park has increasingly cashed in on entrance fees.

"If the problem is about park fees, it would have occurred years ago, not now," he wrote on his Facebook account.

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