Pattaya Mayor orders Bali Hai Pier officials to crackdown on alleged problems, speedboat price gouging, etc.

Pattaya –

The Pattaya Mayor has ordered relevant officers and agencies to closely manage the Bali Hai Pier after many alleged problems have gone viral on social media.

Today, (November 18th), the Pattaya City Mayor Sonthaya Khunplome ordered a significant increase in law enforcement and municipality officers to patrol around the Bali Hai Pier.

The team was led by the Pattaya City Deputy Mayor Wuttisak Ruemkitkarn, Pattaya City Law Enforcement Officers, and officers from the marine office.

Mayor Sonthaya told TPN media, “We have received many complaints about boat (primarily speedboat) operators who have no legal license, some are annoying tourists and not following service rules, unfair boat service fees, and even some boats abandoning passengers after disputes over pricing or other issues. These have come from primarily domestic Thai tourists visiting nearby islands and the pier.”

“These problems have gone viral on social media which has directly damaged the good image of Pattaya tourism. We have to solve these problems in order to ensure a positive experience for all tourists. We are continuing to manage the pier to prepare for future events in Pattaya where the number of guests going to Koh Larn and other islands is forecast to increase significantly, especially over the fireworks festival and the countdown festival weekends.” The mayor stated.

TPN media notes that specifics over incidents were not given, however, multiple complaints were seen on social media recently about alleged price gouging from speedboat operators, especially around last weekend’s Koh Larn music festival in which the boats were the only way to leave the island immediately after ferry operating hours when the concert took place.

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Goongnang Suksawat
Goong Nang is a News Translator who has worked professionally for multiple news organizations in Thailand for many years and has worked with The Pattaya News for more than four years. Specializes primarily in local news for Phuket, Pattaya, and also some national news, with emphasis on translation between Thai to English and working as an intermediary between reporters and English-speaking writers. Originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, but lives in Phuket and Krabi except when commuting between the three.