Bangkok Crimes

Bangkok Post

Taxi cheats, fake tour guides targeted.

Unregistered tour guides and taxis are facing fines of 2,000 baht and/or a year in jail as part of Suvarnabhumi airport’s new get tough policy.

The taxi cheats and illegal tour guides followed when Bangkok International Airport moved from Don Mueang to Suvarnabhumi three years ago.

There have been attempts to flush them out but they just keep coming back.

Airports of Thailand Plc chairman Piyaphan Champasut said yesterday a subcommittee on transport control at the airport had been set up in May to enforce suppression measures on illegal tour guides and taxis.

The subcommittee is chaired by Land Transport Department director-general Chairat Sanugansue.

A special operation unit will work on the ground to ensure the crackdown is effective.

It will also enforce measures such as zoning and parking time limits. Mr Piyaphan yesterday met the Tourist Police Bureau and the Department of Land Transport to discuss the problems at the airport.

The airport was declared a controlled area for tour guides and taxis in 2006.

Mr Piyaphan said scores of illegal tour guides and taxi drivers were arrested and fined, but they simply came back.

The airport will now strengthen the measures.

Unregistered tour guides and taxis could be fined 2,000 baht and face up to a year in prison.

The punishment would be heavier if they adopt an aggressive sales pitch or engage in physical abuse, and if they operate at night. They can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to 10,000 baht.

Mr Piyaphan was confident the stricter measures would start to show results in the next two months. Assessments would be made every 15 days to see if they were working.

KC: Can’t see this having any long term benefit. The measures may initially prove effective, but also open up new potential for corruption with the ’special operation unit’ being the target of scammers’ bribes. Suvarnabhumi, an airport plagued with controversy since its inception, has been a veritable breeding ground for scams and extortion both within and outside its walls. Its nature as the main gateway to Thailand makes it particularly important to Thailand’s image as a tourist destination, first impressions last after all. The airport often fails miserably in this role, especially with a vast number of taxi drivers and ‘tour operators’ desperate to milk tourists for every satang, ensuring they eventually arrive at their destination feeling cheated. I sincerely hope this new initiative is successful, although one remains sceptical that the scammers will will simply disappear. Please feel free to share any tales of Suwarnabhumi woe, or indeed positive experiences, in the comments section below.