Changing Pattaya from the Sex Capital to a Family Resort will take time says Chief
The chief of Pattaya’s tourism office has said that changing the resort’s seedy image is not something that can be expected to happen overnight.
But Sinchai Watanasartsathorn said he was determined to work with all sectors both public and private to change its image. And one day he said he would succeed.
Sinchai – a chamber of commerce and tourism expert – was talking to the Pattaya News following a story that appeared online in the UK’s Mirror newspaper.
The Mirror called Pattaya the “Sex Capital of the World”, said there were 27,000 protitutes in the city, or one in five of the female population and said all this goes on despite pay for play being illegal in the kingdom.
“It is undeniable that stories like this have a detrimental effect on Pattaya,” said Sinchai.”It is especially bad for people who have never been here and those that are weighing up their decisions whether to come or not”.
But Sinchai does not have rose tinted specs – he accepted that the resort has got the sex image for good reason and this has been going on for many many years.
“But both the public and private sector are determined to change this image. It will take time and certainly cannot be achieved overnight but we will ultimately be successful”.
He said that many people were actively promoting new tourist trends to show that Pattaya has much more to offer than just the sex industry. He said this was vital to attract new and increased investment.
Meanwhile the police said that despite the fact there were many crimes committed in Pattaya they were doing their best to address the issues and solve the crimes.
“We need a long term plan,” said a hopeful Sinchai as he called on all sides to improve the resort’s image in the future.
Source: Pattaya News
