Local massage vendors in Phuket protest over foreign investors allegedly operating shops at much lower prices

Phuket –

About 80 local massage vendors in Phuket protested at the Phuket City Hall complaining about massage shops which were allegedly being invested in by foreigners operating with much lower prices, hurting their business.

The protest yesterday morning (August 19th) was led by Mr. Tansiwit Klaichaem from local massage vendors associations. They filed a letter to the Phuket Governor.

Mr. Tansiwit told The Phuket Express, “There is a massage shop chain which has been invested in by foreigners but operated by Thais. They have many shops in Phuket, all essentially a copy of each other. Normally, the price for a massage in Phuket as agreed upon by local massage associations is about 300 baht but this shops massage fee is only 150 baht. This price is impossible as the cost should be higher than that. This chain does not participate in local associations and has refused to listen to us. So now we must go to a higher level of authority.”

“Other local massage shops that have been closed during the Covid -19 pandemic are unable to reopen as they cannot afford to operate with that low price. Other local massage shops that are being opened now also have fewer customers as they all are using the lower price chain massage shops.”

The Phuket Vice Governor Arnuparp Rodkwan Yodrabam told The Phuket Express, “We will find a solution for this issue as soon as possible and to check the massage shops to see if they are compliant. It is unclear if the chain is doing anything illegal at this point and will need further investigation but as they are upsetting many people locally and causing unrest a peaceful solution and compromise must be found between the different parties.”

The name of the chain was withheld pending the further investigation.

The original version of this article appeared on our sister website, The Pattaya News, owned by our parent company TPN media.

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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.