- Target:
- Thailand Government
- Region:
- Thailand
We (I, Danish Pyarali Patel and Shahzad Warsani) visited Thailand on 22 March 2018. I am writing in regards to my concerns related to safety and emergency situations in Thai tourist regions.
On 24 March 2018 we went for holidays in Phuket Island. We have booked very popular one day boat trip to see Phi Phi and Khai Nai Islands by speedboat. We booked that with one of many local tour companies in Phuket. I have to admit the scenery was beautiful but we have huge concerns about health and safety training and procedures of staff on the boat as well as beaches.
On the last stop on Khai Nai Island my friend Mr. Shahzad Sultan Ali Warsani drowned and passed away. (I have attached the Death Certificate and Documents)
The tour guide and staff on the boat have no emergency procedures. They do not know how to do first aid and CPR. We could not get information from them if they phoned ambulance or asked for help other government institution (police, sea guards, etc).
In the end tourists got involved and tried to rescue the young man doing CPR. We insisted on our boat tour guide to use boat to go to nearest port were ambulance can wait, which he agreed to do after few minutes.
Over 30 minutes after the accident we got to the Phuket, and ambulance was waiting to help. Unfortunately my best friend died.
As I know dozens of millions of tourists visit Thailand each year and I believe these numbers are growing, as Thailand is highly desired place to see.
My concern and request is to draw attention of Thai government to safety issues regarding tourism in Thailand.
I understand that there are no perfect solutions and accidents will happen all the time but I can see room for improvements. These improvements are sometimes very basic things to correct. For example:
- A small emergency response centre should be established with a doctor and a nurse who can save the precious life.
- At least one person from staff with first aid training on each boat and beach as a mandatory requirement (I have noticed there are more than 20 local people working on each beach we visited). This solution is not cost effective for the government but gives opportunity for local companies to improve their services and protect people’s precious lives.
- We did pay fee to local government to access Phi Phi island as it is a part of National Park. I believe some of this money can be spent not only on preserving nature but also protect people, and I think helicopter ambulance is a huge need in the area between Phuket and Krabi.
- In the regions with high tourist ratio a person who answers emergency 112 number should be able to communicate in English.
- Education program or system that will help local people to understand the importance of saving life and action quickly. It is not good PR for Thailand when tourists have to do CPR, when local staff just stares and does not know how to help.
I understand that Thai government constantly works on citizens and tourists safety and I trust this letter could be an encouragement to improve the situation even more.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Petition to ensure Tourist safety on Beaches in Thailand petition to Thailand Government was written by Danish Patel and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.