Goodbye "Sin City" hello "Sports City" - Kobkarn announces Pattaya makeover citing Jetskis as major world attraction

[webfact]

Goodbye "Sin City" hello "Sports City" - Kobkarn announces Pattaya makeover citing Jetskis as major world attraction

 

Image: Thairath

 

PATTAYA: -- Tourism and sports minister Kobkarn Watanavarangul has told the Thai media of her plans to rid Pattaya of its sin city tag and make it the hub of sports tourism.

 

This comes as it was announced that the minister is threatening to make a visit to the resort in March Thairath reported.

 

The minister - who last July said she intended to wipe out the sex trade in Thailand - has now accepted that "the service entertainment" industry exists in Pattaya but sports is the way forward.

 

She said you only have to look at world class sporting events like the Jetski World Cup to see that. The ministry needs to get the word out to foreigners interested in sports and they will come flocking, she said.

 

Khun Kobkarn was speaking to ThaiRath in the wake of foreign media claims about Pattaya being nothing but a crime ridden knocking shop with 27,000 prostitutes.

 

"From my perspective," she began, "Pattaya needs to have zones for the service and entertainment industry. This kind of trade exists in every city worldwide but it is restricted to certain areas and cannot be easily accessed".

 

In Thailand it is often by the side of main roads and plain for everyone to see, she commented. She intimated this needed to change by zoning.

 

"We at the ministry are working hard to raise the image and profile of Pattaya and Chonburi in general as a place for sport and sports tourism as we have already announced.

 

"There are many events in the province that are world class. We just need to get the word out and let the foreign tourists find out all about them. Then many will come", she said.

 

Kobkarn cited the Jetski World Cup Pattaya and the Bang Saen Triathlon as prime examples.

 

"Such events need our promotion abroad to attract sports tourists and visitors".

 

The minister who was noticeable by her absence when officers from her ministry made an inspection visit to Walking Street last week told Thai Rath that she hoped to visit Pattaya herself sometime this month.

 

Source: Thairath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-03-02

[Allstars]

There is no doubt about that the Pattaya jetski's are attracting the worldwide press for years already

[champers]

So all the sex trade will go to the darkside and Pattaya will host the Olympics, Winter Olympics (when the skating rink in Harbour Mall opens), the World Cup (choose your sport) and the Grand Depart of the Tour de France. I can't wait!!!

[AGareth2]

sexersise?

[Thailaw]

5 minutes ago, Allstars said:

There is no doubt about that the Pattaya jetski's are attracting the worldwide press for years already

Indeed, a move away from "sex capital" to "scam capital" is not the best way to promote wholesome tourism. Probably the second best know negative element of Pattaya, after sex tourism (assuming that sex tourism is a "negative" element), is the police/government supported jet ski scams up and down the Pattaya beach. Volley ball, anyone?

[BigBadGeordie]

8 minutes ago, AGareth2 said:

sexersise?

Nope....

 

Water Sports

 

And no I am not taking the p*s#

[colinneil]

20 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Nope....

 

Water Sports

 

And no I am not taking the p*s#

 

 

Water sports, OK. whatever floats your boat.

They gonna have any m... diving???

Yes i am taking the p..s

[mercman24]

so that's two weeks taken care of. what about the other fifty weeks of the year,yep back to good old Pattaya ways, lol .glad Bangkok did not get a mention,, LEAVE US ALONE,  he he

[whatawonderfulday]

28 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Nope....

 

Water Sports

 

And no I am not taking the p*s#

If it is the water Sports capital then surely Donald Trump will be a regular visitor !!

[johng]

42 minutes ago, champers said:

Pattaya will host the Olympics, Winter Olympics (when the skating rink in Harbour Mall opens), the World Cup (choose your sport) and the Grand Depart of the Tour de France. I can't wait!!!

Don't forget the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Bira racetrack ( or on Sukumvit every other day )

[AGareth2]

39 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Nope....

 

Water Sports

 

And no I am not taking the p*s#

Ok, well it take all sorts.

[ezflip]

Cue the jetskis mafia signing

[tagalong]

Pattaya will ALWAYS be a filthy place....As for jet skies.....Greatest con in Thailand for scamming tourists....

[Wallander4]

Does she know Jetski Scamming is not a sport ?

[clockman]

What med is she taking. Must be good!

[darksidedog]

Hmm! More Jet Skis = more pollutants in an already, filthy, stinking water.

More Jet Skis = more rip offs to tourists who "damage them."

Can you see people in England saying, "Lets go to Pattaya, they have Jet Skis."

Or more likely, "Lets go to Pattaya, they have very friendly girls EVERYWHERE."

[LannaGuy]

" There are many events in the province that are world class"

 

Errmm.. care to name one dear?  and, no, JetSki's is not one of them 

 

Ping Pong perhaps?

[darksidedog]

I saw a truly world class event last week, but I think it fell into the category, that the Tourism and Sports Minister is trying to pretend has been stamped out.

[johng]

2 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

There are many events in the province that are world class"

The ladies tennis and golf championships, jetski championship @ Jomtien beach,Pattaya (not very)  "international" Music festival,The fireworks competition,Pattaya Marathon are some that  maybe somewhere nearly approaching a world class standard (which world is open to question )

[thaiman]

13 minutes ago, clockman said:

What med is she taking. Must be good!

A dose of American Educational System along with womens' empowerment injection.  A very powerful and addictive med that is normally abused!

[petermik]

Absolutely wonderfull news for Pattaya and Thailand in general,this minister,s ideas are what have been needed for a long time here ...............here,s hoping they set up another commitee along with a huge budget in place to implement these "innovative and exciting" plans.

 

In reality its just another load of b*ll**it

 

[biker Bob]

15 minutes ago, clockman said:

What med is she taking. Must be good!

55555555555 I want some

[CGW]

Some years back they used to host the formula one boat racing in Pattaya, what horrendous noise pollution that created, took weeks for your ears to stop ringing! 

So yes, if they can make the jet skis noisy enough, given Thai love of anything that generates high decibels! this could well happen

She's havin a laugh!

[Philthyphil]

I spoke to the winner of the Pattaya cross bay swim about five years ago.

.she had swam in some fairly ordinary water during her career. But she said that the Pattaya swim was the first she had actually swam through terds. She reckoned that her good time was down to the fact she could wait to get out of the water.

 

Maybe for other sports they could use the big park on the corner of Soi Kao Talo and sukhumvit. Handy location, they could stay in the Grand Eastern Hotel behind and just walk to all the events.

and toilet facilities on site. 

IMG_5842.MOV

[tomacht8]

Completely wrong approach.
Why is there concentrated on Pattaya, I am haunted.
Pattaya is some of the few destinations that have a clear profile and also the world class services products.
Pattaya does not need tourism assistance or needs to be transformed.
It is a money-printing machine and the revenues are spread over the entire population,
in contrast to the large hotel chains, which takes the profit abroad.

More safety, better public transport, sensible waste and wastewater disposal should be the innovation themes.

[fforest1]

One day Pattaya is going to have Nature tourism the next day its going to

have Sports tourism...lol

 

How can anyone hold up the Jet Skis as some kind of model to be looked

up to? One of the biggest scams in Thailand.....

 

Pattayas horrible beach insures it will never become a family

destination of any kind....

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"From my perspective," she began,

And therein lies the problem.

[rkidlad]

This nonsense of Pattaya becoming a respectable destination and not a sex destination will end when the locals think foreigners have forgotten. Give it a few weeks. Then it will all be remembered again when we get our next foreign tabloid splash. 

[harada]

Yeah right, Step 1, get through immigration, Step 2, if you haven't decided to leave for another country, head for the city of scams. 

[Gobbledegook]

7 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

And therein lies the problem.

She has left herself wide open for ridicule here.