Editor;
(There was) a very interesting article in the Bangkok Post by Unisa Sakhsvasti Monday June 4 – “What is the price of goodwill? Here in Thailand we are in danger of essentially barbecuing the goose that lays the golden egg so we can have one delicious, satisfying meal of Peking duck, never mind if we end up starving tomorrow. Uninformed thinking goes along the lines double pricing is OK. There are potentially so many first-time visitors to target it won’t matter if we lose a few repeat visitors, will it? How long would a restaurant survive with that kind of thinking? How long will Thailand be a favourite tourist destination with that kind of thinking?”
She goes on to say, “I would feel discriminated against if an Arabic sign that said I had to pay more at the Pyramids of Gaza simply because I was a tourist, or the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or the Statue of Liberty in America, or the Tower of London”
Double pricing is bad news for the tourist industry. Wake-up Thailand, take notice of the rotten smell and do something about it before it is too late. But perhaps it is already too late, so enjoy your BBQ Peking duck today and don’t be surprised if you go hungry tomorrow and the days after!
RW
