Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai ordered Pattaya officials to employ more people to keep city beaches clean and closely monitor prices as the province continues to ensure the success of its beach-chair vendor reorganization.
Khomsan led a Feb. 18 delegation to Pattaya and Jomtien beaches to inspect the progress of the reorganization, which saw vendors pushed closer together and their plots downsized to return more of the sand to the public. He was joined by Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh, Banglamung police and district officials, and army representatives.
Chonburi Gov. Khomsan Ekachai (2nd left) leads a delegation to Pattaya and Jomtien beaches to inspect the progress of the beach-chair vendor reorganization. His takeaway was a good one – that Pattaya officials need to employ more people to keep city beaches clean.
Khomsan said he was impressed overall by the success of the reorganization, although he told Ronakit that city hall needs to hire more cleaners to keep the beach and surrounding areas tidier.
He also advised beach vendors not to wear face masks or bandanas to improve customer service and safety, and told city officials to continually check that prices are posted and kept in line with regulations.
The governor also was unhappy with the number of baht buses and taxis parking in red-and-white “no parking” zones and instructed police and city officials again to get serious by enforcing parking laws.
It has been nearly a year since the governor stood on Beach Road and promised that enforcement would solve traffic and parking problems, but police and city hall have done little in the past 12 months to make that a reality.
Deputy Gov. Chawalit Saeng-Uthai called the beach cleanup a success, but noted officials continue to receive many complaints from vendors unhappy with the new reality. He said authorities will continue to work with vendors to resolve their issues.
