City officials and tourism-industry executives
slammed a Marine Department proposal to launch a new public ferry
service between Pattaya and Hua Hin, saying the project lacks a
profitable business plan and would not boost tourism significantly.
Summarizing an initial feasibility study on the plan,
Marine Department Deputy Director Nat Jabjai and Chulalongkorn
University Assistant Professor Jakrarit Duangpasstra told the Pattaya
Business & Tourism Association that a ferry would cut two hours from the
drive time to Hua Hin and ferry both passengers and cargo between the
two cities.
Pattaya City Councilman Sanit Boonmachai,
representing the Pattaya Tour Boats Club, blasted the project’s
financials, however, saying “It lacks a clear break-even point because
the capital required for boats, gas and other expenses would be high and
the group of tourists opting for this mode of transportation is still
limited.”
Sanit also criticized the project’s safety plans,
saying the ferries lacked safety standards and no contingencies for
on-water emergencies were made.
Bundarik Kusolvitya, president of eastern chapter of
the Thai Hotels Association, said the project would not meet the
government’s goals of boosting tourism revenue to 2 trillion baht by
2015.
“Only a certain group would benefit from this
project,” she said. “If the Marine Department and its researchers insist
on continuing with this project, there must be improvements, such as a
standard pier, standardized boats and convenient and safe travel.”
Marine Department officials quickly backpedaled,
saying the project was only in the “information gathering” stage and
they would continue to study the project before moving forward.
Pattaya has seen ferry services to Hua Hin in the
past, all of which went bankrupt. Most recently, a privately owned
catamaran ferry service called Thailiving closed in December after
failing to attract enough customers to fill three weekly crossings
during its 13 months of operation.
