Chinese "Night Safari" website ripping off Thais to the tune of 20 million baht

[webfact]

Chinese "Night Safari" website ripping off Thais to the tune of 20 million baht

 

Picture: Springnews

 

A complaint has been made to Chiang Mai police about a website selling cut price tickets for the Night Safari.

 

Tourism representative Junjira Khampuang went to see police chief Adul Srijanta to say that the website was offering 400 baht tickets for just 150 baht.

 

The tourists end up paying the difference in other ways in a practice that is known in the industry as "zero dollar".

 

But for the Night Safari Junjira said it has fleeced them of 20 million baht.

 

Source: Springnews

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-09-28

[Bung]

The night safari has been ripping off tourists for years.  Case in point.  Height limit for children to pay adult entry price. Works that most farang pay more for their kids and Thais less. Just genetics. 

 

Took my son when he was around 12 y/o,  no matter we had proof of his age,  the height rule was enforced. So if they themselves got ripped off I would be happy. 

 

Maybe they can take down the thousands of street signs they planted everywhere that are made to look like municipal signs stating how far it is to night safari.  I've seen them 100 klm away. 

[cmsally]

Surely the only way they could be fleecing them is by giving fake tickets. Somewhere along the line the Night Safari has to be issuing tickets at "ticket price". Even if the website is offering as some sort of package, somewhere along the line they have to be buying actual tickets at actual price (unless faking them).

The other possibility is a ticket office person handing out "freebies".

[Thailand]

Probably Taobao.com or it's associates,is the website. Not sure how they are ripping off Thais by offering cheap tickets,anyone can buy them for many of the attractions in and around Chiangmai and Thailand in general.

I would guess a fair proportion of the proceeds go to the Night Safari.

 

Seems to be the tourism rep simply dosn't like the competition?

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Bung said:

The night safari has been ripping off tourists for years.  Case in point.  Height limit for children to pay adult entry price. Works that most farang pay more for their kids and Thais less. Just genetics. 

 

Took my son when he was around 12 y/o,  no matter we had proof of his age,  the height rule was enforced. So if they themselves got ripped off I would be happy. 

 

Maybe they can take down the thousands of street signs they planted everywhere that are made to look like municipal signs stating how far it is to night safari.  I've seen them 100 klm away. 

 

And don't forget that for some time the paymasters son was employed by this outfit as a consultant.

[alant]

When were prices reduced to 400฿?

Unless these are fake tickets someone is selling them to the Chinese to sell on. 

[alant]

3 hours ago, cmsally said:

Surely the only way they could be fleecing them is by giving fake tickets. Somewhere along the line the Night Safari has to be issuing tickets at "ticket price". Even if the website is offering as some sort of package, somewhere along the line they have to be buying actual tickets at actual price (unless faking them).

The other possibility is a ticket office person handing out "freebies".

Imagine that, I have seen no claim that these tickets are fake so how can this be correct.

Maybe there is dual pricing for Thais as well???

[Thailand]

25 minutes ago, alant said:

Imagine that, I have seen no claim that these tickets are fake so how can this be correct.

Maybe there is dual pricing for Thais as well???

Many of the Chinese buy the tickets before they come, most include transport to the venue and often a meal. As I said, nothing to stop anyone buying them, looks like some sort of overall deal has been made with the relevant authority.

 

http://sea.taobao.com/search/en/search.htm?_ksTS=1506583659993_101&search_type=2&_input_charset=utf-8&navigator=all&json=on&q=泰国自由行&callback=__jsonp_cb&abtest=null

[jippytum]

If they where sold genuine tickets and there is no suggestion otherwise then the night safari people at in at the source.

If the tickets where fake the holders would not gain entry but the tickets where genuine as no one was refused entry .

 

[PAIBKK]

Som nam na

[samsensam]

 

surely the tickets come from night safari, so they get the income from those tickets - unless the tickets are not genuine, the price they are sold on at will not effect the income for night safari - and may well be non of their business.

 

in the west tickets are bought from the attraction and then sold on at an inflated price.

[Get Real]

7 hours ago, Bung said:

The night safari has been ripping off tourists for years.  Case in point.  Height limit for children to pay adult entry price. Works that most farang pay more for their kids and Thais less. Just genetics. 

 

Took my son when he was around 12 y/o,  no matter we had proof of his age,  the height rule was enforced. So if they themselves got ripped off I would be happy. 

 

Maybe they can take down the thousands of street signs they planted everywhere that are made to look like municipal signs stating how far it is to night safari.  I've seen them 100 klm away. 

If they have a height rule, then I guess it should be the one enforced. But, how do you think? Does this make it all okey to break the law?

[farcanell]

lol... really ???? love it.

 

providing the tickets are not fake or stolen, (issues which could well center around the Thai side of the business... hint... look inward ?) There is no issue

 

the Chinese can on sell them ( perhaps as a cheap incentive for other upselling initiatives, or just to get the travel business) for whatever they want... or even give them away.

 

 

[BernieOnTour]

Well, from Gotham City at the Eastern Seaboard I know, the shows were selling tickets to Thai tour agents for 1/2 to 1/3 of the price at the counter ... so not unlikely the same was happening in CM and the Thai agents were "forwarding" them to the Chinese tour agents 555

 

On the other hand: having experienced the disastrous effects of the Zero-Baht-Tours there, with busses blocking the whole traffic, using the city streets as one big parking lot and hordes of pushy, loud and unconsiderate PRC Chinese -

Yes, crack down on the Zero-Baht guys !

[simon43]

The 400 baht ticket is probably sold to the agent by the Night Safari at a wholesale price of maybe 200 baht.  It is up to the agent how much mark-up they add to that price.

 

In this case it's likely that the agent discounts the ticket by another 50 baht, but then adds on some compulsory charge, such as for a meal, coach service etc to recoup the overall profit.

 

I used to do the same with guests at my hotel who were travelling onwards to Phi-Phi. I would sell the ferry ticket at zero profit to me, then add on my own hotel taxi service charge ==> profit and happy guests.

 

It's just playing with numbers and it sounds like the complainant is moaning because they have been cut out of the deal.

[Ruffian Dick]

Is it true the Night Safari was developed on illegitimate grounds? So maybe this is karma in action.

Quote

“The project was based on wrong premises from the start since it used public lands in a national park and about 1,700 million baht in tax money…,” Chaipan said. “We want to correct the wrongs. Since many other similar projects are being undertaken by the authorities, we want to use this as a test case so that a proper standard can be set for our society.”

The lawsuit claimed that the night safari project was not carried out in accordance with the law and had a negative impact on the local people. Members of NGOs affiliated with the ‘Khon Hak Jiang Mai’ (People Loving Chiang Mai) Network were among those who filed the suit.

http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/showthread.php?10121-Court-petitioned-to-close-Chiang-Mai-Night-Safari

[lonewolf99]

I remember a road sign for the Night Safari in Chiang Mai that was just outside Pattaya - 600+km .....and someone posted on Thai Visa they drove to Chiang Mai on the highways and it was 800+ km to CM...........Arithmetic is not a strong point in LoS....so the money total in this tale  and working out distances is normally beyond them...hence every shop worker has a calculator (non scientific). Does anyone know if other countries are willing to tolerate droves of Chinese and not make any money out of them.....??? Obviously only the Chinese make anything out of this and someone very high up in LoS.

[Thailand]

On 10/3/2017 at 9:16 AM, lonewolf99 said:

I remember a road sign for the Night Safari in Chiang Mai that was just outside Pattaya - 600+km .....and someone posted on Thai Visa they drove to Chiang Mai on the highways and it was 800+ km to CM...........Arithmetic is not a strong point in LoS....so the money total in this tale  and working out distances is normally beyond them...hence every shop worker has a calculator (non scientific). Does anyone know if other countries are willing to tolerate droves of Chinese and not make any money out of them.....??? Obviously only the Chinese make anything out of this and someone very high up in LoS.

Does not make sense. The websites that sell the cheap tickets for hundreds of attractions around Thailand,not just the Night Safari,they are not just China based, there are other countries offering them including locally based websites here in LOS. Obviously the tickets are purchased in bulk and the beneficiaries are the attractions themselves with guaranteed ticket sales and the end user getting cheaper tickets. The losers are the ones complaining who also can get cheap tickets but offer them at high prices, it's the competition they don't like.

[wakeupplease]

No farangs left to blame then.

[dcnx]

On 9/28/2017 at 10:59 AM, Thailand said:

Probably Taobao.com or it's associates,is the website. Not sure how they are ripping off Thais by offering cheap tickets,anyone can buy them for many of the attractions in and around Chiangmai and Thailand in general.

I would guess a fair proportion of the proceeds go to the Night Safari.

 

Seems to be the tourism rep simply dosn't like the competition?

They get cheaper thai sim cards on taobao too. No id scan. They work fine.

[dcnx]

On 10/5/2017 at 12:42 PM, Thailand said:

Does not make sense. The websites that sell the cheap tickets for hundreds of attractions around Thailand,not just the Night Safari,they are not just China based, there are other countries offering them including locally based websites here in LOS. Obviously the tickets are purchased in bulk and the beneficiaries are the attractions themselves with guaranteed ticket sales and the end user getting cheaper tickets. The losers are the ones complaining who also can get cheap tickets but offer them at high prices, it's the competition they don't like.

Exactly. They buy in bulk.

 

Most people don't understand Chinese purchasing power.

[Jeremy50]

Nobody should be able to buy a ticket. The animals should be left alone in peace.