Minister: Samui blackout not serious

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Minister: Samui blackout not serious

Published: 7 Dec 2012 at 18.23
Online news: Local News

SURAT THANI: The three-day electricity blackout on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan won't hurt the local tourism industry much, Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa said on Friday.

Power was back on the two popular tourist islands in the southern coastal province of Surat Thani after engineers spent the night successfully restoring electricity.

"The outage won't affect tourists and tourism business operators to a great extent because Thailand has a competitive advantage in tourism and is also a regional hub, and foreigners like to come here," Mr Chumpol said.

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howell
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Discussion 7 : 07 Dec 2012 at 20.347
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@borrocks. Thailand is not immune but the Thaksin/PTP government is out of touch with reality,

e.g Chalerm, 'no terrorists' and the rice scam that somehow will miraculously raise the price of Thai rice in world markets. Too much desert sun on the fugitive's head.
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tansri
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Discussion 6 : 07 Dec 2012 at 19.516
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The Minister should be fired for making a such a ludicrous comment showing disrespect for people suffering.
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franklin
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Discussion 5 : 07 Dec 2012 at 19.475
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Basically Thailand seems not the least concerned about much of anything. Low international ratings, Thai deaths in the south,corruption,lawlessness, tourist scams, deaths and now 19,000 tourist having to alter plans, waste time and money due to a power outage that the Tourism Minister shrugs off as ‘no-big-deal’ and “not serious”. And like the Suwampaphune blackout the last thing ever to enter a Ministers mind is acknowledgement of a mistake and an offer of an apology to those encouraged to visit. Just how hard is it to say we made a mistake, please accept our apology??
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bkk-farang
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Discussion 4 : 07 Dec 2012 at 19.004
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20 years ago I was on a Samui beach in a hut with just a fan. At that time I would not have mind a power cut and I am sure the locals would have barbequed some fish. But now, 20 year later, Samui is no Robinson Island anymore and at least the 5 star tourists will care. But how can we expect that our Tourist minister knows that. He probably got his job like anybody else in this government. Any tourism related qualification and knowledge was never part of his job description.
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borrocks
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Discussion 3 : 07 Dec 2012 at 18.463
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this sums up the mentality and way of thinking perfectly.....Chalerm yesterday and now this minister, Thailand is immune to everything
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elvis
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Discussion 2 : 07 Dec 2012 at 18.412
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The 21 million arrivals is just the number of foreigners who arrive here. They don't mean that all these people are holidaying here. A lot of them are here on business and others move on to more inviting destinations such as Cambodia, Laos or Vietnam. As soon as direct flights become available to Yangon,Phnom Penn or Vientiane from Europe, Australia or the States, this bubble will burst. Another terribly incompetent minister, who is completely out of touch with reality.
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englishbob
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Discussion 1 : 07 Dec 2012 at 18.381
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It's not a problem... for him... because he doesn't live there.

But news reports state that people left the island in droves... Unless Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa imagines these thousands of tourists left their money behind, it IS a problem and it DOES need addressing. A suspicious man might imagine that Mr Chumpol just can't be bothered doing the job he's paid for.
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Minister: Samui blackout not serious | Bangkok Post: news