Carelessness first

I would like to bring your attention on the worrying similarities shared by the two major news items of the past week.

I am referring to the young Thai footballers trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand, and the over 30 Chinese tourists killed in a horrific naval incident in southern Thailand.

Both cases involve one of grandest industries of the Kingdom — tourism — and show an alarming lack of effective set of rules and enforcement, so as to ensure people’s safety.

As a law lecturer at a Thai University and an attorney-at-law, these tragedies touched me deeply.

First, we sadly witness every day that safety concerns are widely ignored in Thailand. No matter whether in construction sites, touristic attractions, logistics or manufacturing SMEs (the backbone of the Thai industrial sector), workers do not wear any helmets, safety shoes, glasses, or gloves.

How could the Thailand 4.0 master plan become a reality, if even the most elementary rules about work safety are infringed on a daily basis?

Second, careless and irresponsible behaviour is so widespread in Thailand, at some point it became the new normal. Reckless Thai people don’t just harm tourists’ lives, as in the case of the Chinese travellers in Phuket. They also affect the lives of their fellow countrymen — how is it possible that every Songkran festival, which should happily mark the beginning of a new year, is a heart-rending war bulletin about hundreds of Thai people losing their lives due to deadly car accidents?

Third, there are massive issues related to people’s education, and effective law enforcement by Thai authorities.

As it is widely known that the typhoon season is unpredictable and potentially dangerous, people’s education and awareness in this regard should be enhanced. However, since education can produce results only in the long run, it is up to Thai policymakers and law enforcement authorities to show clearly that safety will become a primary goal to pursue, in factories, construction sites, and tourist spots. Signals claiming ridiculously “safety first” or disclaiming any responsibility if tourists enter a cave, are not the right responses to such a dramatic emergency.

Beyond strictly enforcing the current set of rules, hard choices should be made: for instance, revoking the licences to the noncompliant owners of boats, closing down caves during the rainy season, as well as prohibiting boat trips during the same season.

One may wonder whether this can affect Thai tourism. It can, indeed.

However, we must look at the bigger picture.

Thailand did astonishing work to scale up its tourism sector, from 10 million arrivals in 2014 to over 35 million in 2017 (of which approx 10 million from Mainland China only). Thailand is the only Asian country to make into the rankings of the 10 most-visited nations worldwide. However, it is equally easy to face a sharp decrease of arrivals, if the kingdom ends up being perceived as the Land of Death, rather than the Land of Smiles.

Consider what happened to the South Korean tourism sector, when Sino-Korean relations deteriorated a few years back. The number of Chinese arrivals dramatically dropped.

The same can happen in Thailand if Chinese travellers perceive Thailand as a dangerous and unsafe nation to visit.

PIETRO BORSANO