BBC3 9PM tonight - Thailand - Tourism and the Truth

[Englishman2010]

Could be worth a watch?

Not an expose on the sex pat community by the looks of it, instead it's looking at how little money the hotel workers are paid and how they can be separated from their families for months, similar to the Phil's I guess.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0100vtt

[Terpe]

Thanks for the heads-up.
I may have seen this before, but I've set up to record it just in case.

[Englishman2010]

It is a repeat, but I never saw it first time around

[Steve.r]

I think that is the one with the really patronising young woman presenter. I caught some of it last time but I turned over.

[Dedworth]

I think that is the one with the really patronising young woman presenter. I caught some of it last time but I turned over.

I remember it now - ghastly presenter. I thought it sounded familiar and you mentioning her confirmed it - crocodile tears, being lippy to Hotel management etc etc

[Englishman2010]

I agree, I didn't think much of the presenter. She came across as very fake

[Doc Alan]

Thanks to Englishman ( Ian ), and Dedworth in April, for teling us about this programme
It's part of a series by a 23 year old journalist - Stacey Dooley - and I have to say what we were told was interesting ! Let's not shoot the messenger .
She visited a hotel in the Patong beach area of Phuket, where rooms are 30 GBP / night. Thailand has around 5 times as many foreign tourists as the Philippines, and tourism brings in 50 million GBP / year. We were told there are 10 tourists / 1 local in Phuket, with more staff than rooms in the hotel.
She tried joining the other 28 chambermaids, who are paid 4.50 GBP / day ( 80 p more than the minimum wage). Similar to the Philippines and less than the minimum wage / HOUR ( 5.93 GBP ) in the UK . The girls work 8 hours / day, 6 days a week. Most of them are mothers who can't have their children with them ( lack of accommodation in the staff block ). It was suggested even 1 GBP tip would help - many support whole families on this wage .
Barmaids, we were told, do better on 10 GBP / day, and can afford 40 GBP / month rent for the freedom allowed by basic private accommodation. Sex tourism wasn't mentioned.
Hotel managers appeared sympathetic in front of the cameras, and suggested more staff accommodation might become available.
Ms Dooley met local fishermen / "Sea Gipsies" ,a 2000 - strong community who came from China 400 years ago. The land where they used to live has been reduced to 5% because of hotel development as tourism increased in the past 30 years.
A business man wanted to build a hotel in the last bit of land left - clearly the Sea Gipsies didn't understand title deeds
Ms Dooley secured a meeting with Government officials in Bangkok, and we were told "After Stacey's trip, the Prime Minister personally intervened in the Sea Gipsies' case to make sure it was dealt with fairly" Here was a reminder how different the culture is to our own in the UK. We need to understand and respect this, wherever we visit. Respect for locals seems to have been lost, especially in Thailand, regarded by too many as a paradise for cheap accommodation, sex and alcohol. Thanks again for alerting us to this documentary .

[grahamw48]

I just wish the British media would keep their (usually ignorant and biased) noses out, and concentrate their efforts on helping to right the wrongs in OUR country.

Less travel expenses might help to keep the cost of my TV licence down too.

[sparky]

the problems with these "expose" programmes is they compare our living and standards to a different culture- yes wages are a lot less in thailand but so is the cost of living.I used to emply up to 5 thais in my business there- all were on a lot less wage than a UK minimum but guess what they were happy- i paid over the odds for their wages more than a comparitive thai employer would have done. you cant compere chalk and cheese.

the thais- and filipinos have a different mind set than we do and primarily life for the moment and dont think about tomorrow in the same way we do.

this reporter did a programme on the Bangkok bar scene which was hilarious. one of the bar girls really did lay it on thick with the crocodile tears but as any regular visitor will tell you they can lay it on at the drop of a hat and create a sob story out of thin air. many of the girls earn a fortune through choice in their respective jobs- dont get me wrong many are poor but they choose to do what they do rather than stay at home in the village, and work the fields

[Doc Alan]

I absolutely respect what you say, Graham and Sparky . The journalist was paid to make the documentary, along with a full support team - courtesy of the UK TV licence fee payer.
You have both lived in the Far East and speak from experience. We can't impose our cultural values on people in other countries. But we can respect and try to understand them, more than some immigrants do in the UK !

[johncar54]

I did watch the prog some months ago.

I agree that it showed people working for low wages, but of course a poorly paid job is a lot better than no job.

Unless of course you are a UK teacher or worker in another public job, in which case you must be allowed to have your cake and be allowed to eat it as well !