Promotion of tourism: an interview (part 1)

Int:      Sawadee crab, Kuhn Pipat. I am glad that you, as Minister of Tourism and Sports, managed to make time for this interview because it is a bit difficult for tourism to Thailand, or am I mistaken?

Pip:      Well, difficult. Not everything is going according to plan, but we are still seeing growth figures, so the government is not complaining, but the entrepreneurs are. But they have been spoiled with 6-8% growth in recent years and yes, the coconut trees do grow high but not to the Buddhist heavens. But a good entrepreneur has built up some reserve, and perhaps also evaded taxes with a luxury car fleet. You can take a beating.

Int:      Speaking of reserve. You were actually a reserve minister, weren't you?

Pip:      haha. Yes. My wife, who is much more intelligent than me, would actually become a minister. But she had forgotten that a few years ago she forgot to properly declare the assets and debts she has. She has been unable to hold any political office for 5 years now.

Int:      That must hurt, right?

Pip:      Yes and no. Officially she can't do anything but you know Thai society. Man and woman do everything together, except make love. So we work together a lot on the tourism policy of the country. We discuss everything together, she waits in the ministry canteen for me to finish work, and we always travel together. Sometimes I think she does that because she thinks I have a girlfriend.

Int:      Do you or your wife have any knowledge of tourism on the basis of which Kuhn Too accepted you?

Pip:      Of course. My wife and I travel a lot, both at home and abroad. We have a small resort in the Cayman Islands that my wife forgot to list. We always book our holidays and airline tickets ourselves so that we receive an extra discount on top of our standard hiso discount. We have all kinds of apps on our mobile phones, including those of public transport, but we never use them. In practice, we actually always fly for free. Should do more Thai.

Int:      Well, that would certainly be good for the Thai economy. But how should they do that? That 2 times 1.000 Baht extra help for the poor Thais is immediately spent on toilet paper, tissues, soap powder and shampoo. You've seen those long queues of shopping carts in front of the checkouts on the news, I hope.

Pip:      Well, my wife and I don't watch much TV, except for the Thai soap operas. My wife doesn't want me to watch too many beautiful Thai actresses and I don't, at least on TV. Fortunately I have enough speaking engagements where very lovely young Thai ladies are always present. So I'm not missing anything. No, the Thai economy mainly depends on foreign tourists. And of all types, backgrounds and nationalities. Big spenders, small spenders, rich, Chinese and backpackers.

Int:      Do we have the right tourism product for that?

Pip:      That's a very good question. And we in the Ratchakitprakan house thought about this with the children, knowing that the PPRP and our party would win the elections and we would be asked for this office. And based on a brainstorming session (my daughter had learned at university a week before) we came up with a number of ideas that we are now developing. Me as minister, my wife daily in the canteen and I gave my daughter Iranka a job as director of innovative product development at my ministry. There turned out to be another jar for that that had not been used by the junta. You can't blame the military for not knowing much about innovation. It goes wrong with the simple purchase of modern weapon systems.

Int:      I assume we will soon hear more about the innovations proposed by your family, sorry your ministry.

Pip:     I can lift a corner of the veil if you like, as a scoop.

Int:      Of course, A journalist wants nothing more than a good and new story. Please.

Pip:      Let me start with the most important; and that is safety. And by that I don't just mean the safety of tourists, but also of Thais who work in tourism or earn money from tourists, such as rogue Thais and foreigners. We have taken a closer look at how expats vote when there are elections in their own country and the majority vote nationalistic and are in favor of strict(er) punishments for crimes. Prayut does that well, I can assure you. I will soon launch proposals for this. Thais responsible for scams are fined 1 million Baht, their criminal enterprise is banned and all employees' IDs are confiscated for 5 years. The police officer who establishes the abuse receives 40% of that 1 million. Foreigners who break the rules (such as driving without a helmet, drunk behind the wheel or speeding) are given the choice: either be exiled to the Isaan and marry a poor Thai woman (20-35 years old) and take care of offspring (Thailand is aging in high-speed-train speed; we have to do something about that: these foreigners get visa exemption, 90-day notification and TM30 for the rest of their lives), or deported to the homeland. No more fines because they are only collected by the corrupt police. This way we solve a few problems at the same time.

Int:      That sounds very progressive. Don't you think that will bring criticism from abroad?

Pip:      Of course, but we have our own Thainess. And I am sure that a majority of the 'good guys' among the expats and tourists, and certainly also the Chinese, agree with the measures. You will see the results in a few weeks, I think.

Int:      This will only work if the abuses are also properly communicated.

Pip:      Don't be afraid of that. All cases, arrests and follow-up will be broadcast live on TV, on all channels and on Facebook as much as possible. The Thais are used to that. These are then viewed better than the weekly speech of the PM. And we are negotiating with Workpoint to turn the 'forced' marriages into a permanent soap opera to be broadcast daily. A kind of 'good times, bad times'. There seem to be some Dutch students walking around here in Thailand looking for relevant partnerships between Thai and Dutch companies. Perhaps something for a contact between Workpoint and John de Mol. I gave my large package of shares in Workpoint to my 4-year-old grandson a week before the closing date, so there can be no question of a conflict of interest, my lawyer assures me. And oh yes, and we can also use those bloggers who write all those romantic stories about the poverty and misery in the Isaan.

Int:      Thank you for this interview. I am convinced that the tourism policy is in good hands with your family. Good luck.

Pip:      Maybe we can make a follow-up appointment. I, sorry we, have more good ideas.

Int:      We do.