Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has, for the first time, called his advisory committee together in a meeting on Thursday, where the main topic discussed was the issue of tourists being overcharged by tuk-tuk and taxi drivers. The committee, made up of several of Phuket’s leading tourism and business representatives, aims to supervise Phuket’s development in three key areas. All three vice-governors were present at the meeting with the governor, as were Prajiat Auksorntamkut, head of the Phuket Provincial Office, and fourteen other invitees with impressive credentials. According to Governor Augkaradacha, the “Phuket Governor’s Advisors” meetings will take place monthly and the committee will be divided into three groups in order to propose resolutions to current issues. These groups will cover a tourism and expats committee, an economic committee and a social committee. According to veteran Phuket hotelier Methee Tanmanatragul, the revenue bought to Phuket by its tourism industry exceeded 100 billion baht every year, making it essential to maintain the island’s competitiveness high. Approximately three percent of the revenues were reinvested in marketing, with Mr. Tanmanatragul making the point that such a vast spending was unessential should those tourists who came as a result have a miserable experience on the island and decide never to return. He also offered the example of one case where illegal, “black market” taxi drivers in Kamala had intimidated a local hotel to renounce offering its guests airport pickup at Phuket International Airport because the vehicle did not have the establishment’s logo. The meeting continued through lunch, with members of the committee comparing their reports regarding the most pressing of Phuket’s needs. The monthly meetings in the future will follow a similar pattern, according to Governor Augkaradacha. The importance of today’s event was further underlined by the presence of all of Phuket’s three vice-governors, who are normally working on different projects on the island and seldom come together. Each vice-governor will be heading one committee. The Phuket-based gathering arrived as two Bangkok-based investigations have already started into Phuket’s tourism industry and the increasing corruption in the field.

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