At the meeting, chaired by Vice-Governor Somkiat Sangkhaosutthirak, about 200-300 Karon people came to Karon municipality meeting room. Some shouted in the meeting room. Others carried placards condemning Russian business methods.
“We don’t need you! Get out! Get out!” read one placard. “We don’t need Russian businessmen,” read another. A third read, “Brothers and sisters, we must block Russians from the tour, restaurant, massage and other businesses.”
A variety of local interests are apparently at risk:
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Transport: Taxi drivers in Karon are being bypassed by Russian tour businesses, which have their own transport for customers.
A taxi driver told The Phuket News, “Most of us do not like Russian tour companies because they cut out Thai taxis and tuk-tuks, so we cannot make a living.”
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Tour businesses: The meeting was told, “Russians rent space on the sidewalk and then sell tours without a permit to do so. Some of the people working in these outlets have work permits so that we really do not know what we can do.
“So, it is so difficult for us when the customer chooses to talk with and buy tour tickets from a Russian tour centre.”
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Massage businesses: Massage shops, too, have been hit. One owner said, “Normally, the price Thai massage shops charge is B300 an hour. But the Russian-owned shops charge B250. And the Russian shops always try to sell other things, such as handbags, to the tourists.”
Pernjai Chaiyaka, who has a massage shop in on Kokthanode Rd, told The Phuket News, “The Russians are very aggressive, they have no kindness in their nature. They are mafia.”
She added, “In the past, I used to get groups of customers about 10 times a day, with five to seven customers in a group. Now I get only three groups a day.
“Sometime, Europeans refuse to be in the same place as Russians. If they see Russians [in my shop] they will not come in.
“Now the Russian businessmen are all around Karon, running taxi centres and restaurants.”
Faced with all these angry voices, V/Gov Somkiat urged the crowd to select a committee of about nine people to represent them.
Thanadej Karaket, an expert from the Department of Employment, who arrived in Phuket just a month ago, told the assembly, “Any action we take must be in accordance with the law. First, we have to check and collect as much evidence as we can.
“With regard to the Russian tour centres in Karon, I can confirm that Russians are not allowed by law to be tour agents, taxi drivers or massage therapists [which are occupations reserved for Thais. For a full list see here].
“Russians may work in Thailand, but they have to have work permits. So, the careers available to them are managers, consultants, actor or actresses, chefs, teachers, trainees and missionaries.
“Today, my team and I have been collecting information about Russians working in the Karon area. We have found about 600 of them. I will meet with V/Gov Somkiat to talk about the next steps in dealing with Russians doing business or working illegally in Karon.”
Pol Capt Urumporn Koondejsumrit of the Tourist Police told The Phuket News, “I have to wait for V/G Somkiat’s orders. Then I will coordinate with Karon Police to follow his policy.”
Aleksandr Kolesnikov, who has lived in Phuket for five years and is one of five Russians among the 27 Tourist Police Volunteers stationed in Kathu, said there may be some basic misunderstandings by the protestors in Karon.
For example, he said, of the major “Russian” tour organisers on Phuket only one, Island of Treasure, has significant amounts of Russian ownership. Two others, Matroshka Tour and Marussia – although they employ Russian staff – are 100-per-cent Thai-owned.
Similarly, the four restaurants in Karon offering Russian food may appear to be Russian-owned, but only one is. Two of the others are owned by Turkish nationals and the fourth is Thai-owned.
As for the taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, he said, their main complaint seemed to be about the large mass-tourist company Pegas, which has cars, minibuses and full tour buses carrying mostly Russian package tourists around the island.
The company is conducting business legally, he said, and are providing competition that the taxis and tuk-tuks cannot counter.
He added, “Tuk-tuks and taxis in Phuket are very expensive. That’s why so many tourists choose to rent motorbikes, which is why there are a lot of accidents [involving tourists].”