The taxis drivers guard their “territory” at various hotels and resorts on the island, but are now targeting not only taxis and tour company transport that come from outside but also private individuals coming to pick up friends.
Recently they picked on Ms Fallon-Wood, who told the tale at a meeting on Tuesday (November 26) between diplomatic representatives in Phuket and Governor Maitree Intusut.
Without mentioning the name of the resort in Rawai, she explained, “They just wouldn’t let me in. They wanted my friends to take a taxi. Then they started banging on my car to scare me off.”
The Governor said that Ms Fallon-Wood could call him if this happened again, and if she could point out the taxi drivers involved, then “I will take care of it.”
Afterwards, she told The Phuket News, “The police are going to be really busy if we all do that.” She explained that she had booked her friends, a couple with their children, into a resort near where she lives, and had problems with the taxis every time she went there to pick them up.
The taxis – all with green plates – were not inside the resort grounds, but on the road outside. Each time she went to turn in, they would bang on her window demanding she open it “which I was not going to do” and on her way out they would kick at her tyres.
“I had to drive very carefully so as not to hit any of them and make things worse,” she said.
Swiss Honorary Consul Andrea Kotas Tammathin said that this was not an uncommon occurrence, in her experience.
She told The Phuket News later, “The focus of the authorities has been on unregistered taxis. But this is happening with green-plate [registered] taxis. It’s not a new problem. I’m in the tourism industry and for 12 years or more we’ve had problems picking up customers from hotels in many parts of the island.”
The meeting addressed a number of other issues, one of which, inevitably, was jet-skis.
Seven Smulders, Netherlands Honorary Consul, said he continued to receive reports of jet-ski operators overcharging customers who damaged their machines, by demanding the full cost of repairs.
Officials agreed that the maximum a customer could be charged is B16,000, beyond which insurance – which jet-ski operators are obliged to have – would cover the cost.
Mr Smulders recommended that this fact should be included in the documents jet-ski users sign so that they know their rights.
French Honorary Consul Claude De Crissey said he thought that jet ski hirers should be instructed on how to use the machines before being allowed to go out on them.
“In France we don’t just let people who don’t have a water sports license to ride a jet-ski right from the start.”
The Governor replied that normally the jet-ski service include having an instructor riding with customers or teaching them before letting them go off. “But it’s hard to control the ones who are impatient and who are willing to ride off without experience,” he added.
Norwegian Honorary Consul Pornphan Sittichaivijit was concerned with the issue of public transport. She asked, “If the airport bus to Patong is not working well, is there any other option? Like the ferry from the airport to Patong, for example?”
The Governor replied that the ferry project has already been proposed to the Government and is being studied at the moment – but that it is definitely another transport option. He invited anyone at the meeting to come along to listen to meetings on proposed development projects.
He also had a request for the consuls: that they do something to inform tourists from their countries about Thailand’s regulations and ask them “to respect our warnings. Be mindful of weather forecasts as well.”
For the record, he said, 45 per cent of tourist deaths in Thailand are from existing health problems such as heart attacks, 21 per cent are from drowning, 18 per cent from accidents and 6 per cent are suicides.
“Red flags on the beach mean rip currents so please get your citizens to understand this before they get here,’ the Governor said.
Mr de Crissey acknowledged that 95 per cent of tourists leave Thailand feeling happy, but the remaining 5 per cent feel unhappy because of the same persistent problems: harassment by taxi or tuk-tuk drivers, jet ski rip-offs, and annoying tailor shop tout tactics.
The Governor said the issues were deep-rooted. They were being fixed, but it would take time.