Pattaya is no Miami

Re: “Beach resort banking on Neo Pattaya”, (Business, Oct 11).

Pattaya Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem recently said, “Pattaya is in many regards quite similar to Miami in the US, such as size and number of tourist arrivals”. In reality, that is where the similarity ends and no amount of verbal whitewashing will transform the xxxxhole city of Thailand into a “neo” attractive anything.

The Khunpluem family has maintained an iron grip on Pattaya development for decades and the results speak for themselves.

In case readers may not be familiar with the differences, Miami, with 6 million residents is the third wealthiest city in the US with a GDP of US$345 billion (10.4 trillion baht). In comparison, Thailand, with a population of 65 million has a GDP of $455 million.

Miami also has a vibrant culture, fine architecture, haute couture, a distinctive cuisine, and is a centre of finance, commerce, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. It has three international airports, a public rail system, a major seaport and clean beaches. One could go on at length. However, of note is the fact that Miami has a city manager with a real PhD, and, though not perfect, a functioning democratic government.

Just to make things clear, Pattaya has a Walking Street, which actually confers a whole new meaning to the term “gross domestic product”, and an appointed mayor who is the son of an infamous gangster.

MAD MANGO