Stories tagged with vendors
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Pattaya Cracks Down on Encroaching Beach Vendors
Thailand’s most popular beaches have a reputation for overcrowding, but it’s not always from the tourists. Independent vendors who flock to the sand every day to hawk food, cold drinks and rental umbrellas are notorious for clogging up access to the beach. Few places have it worse than Pattaya, but the city has embarked on an ambitious plan to reign in these vendors.
City officials and police from Pattaya have been charged with monitoring and enforcing new rules concerning where vendors can set up shop. They hope that this will curb the unchecked sprawl of beach stalls and return the majority of the sand to open public use. A quick glance around Pattaya Beach reveals a shockingly organised line of umbrella and beach chair concessions.
The city had received so many complaints from tourists and residents about the amount of beach being monopolised by vendors that the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association decided to take action. Following a new policy from Governor Pracha Taerat, the beach area under concession has been reduced by 50 per cent. Vendors have apparently accepted the new plan, and the improvements to the quality of Pattaya Beach are already evident.
Since the beaches are a major tourist draw for the city of Pattaya, it’s essential to protect their natural beauty and space. Adding support to this initiative, the city government has organised a special task force to monitor and control the beach vendors. Anyone who breaks the rules could face legal consequences or even lose their concession altogether.
Posted by: Andrew on 23 Jul 2008, 16:41 -
Pattaya Beach vendors ignore imposed deadline
http://www.pattayamail.com
The recent controversy over allotted space for vendors on Pattaya, Koh Larn and Jomtien beaches is still ongoing, with vendors ignoring the April 20th deadline set by the municipal government and demanding an extension of two or three months. Past visitors to any of the three beaches would no doubt have noticed the bric-a-brac of vendors selling space for tourists to take shade under umbrellas and such, but it seems the Pattaya City Council’s effort to clean thing sup a little and give vendors one allotted square each has so far failed.
A group of vendors, two days before the deadline, submitted a complaint to the city council claiming the selections were not impartial and called for a revision. Chonburi’s deputy Governor arrived on the day of the deadline to see for himself if vendors would acquiesce, but he saw clearly that they had not.
The impasse is set to carry on for some time, as the vendors are standing their ground as they profess their rights are being violated with the new policy. This is the second move by local office to make Pattaya’s beachfront more orderly, after a new parking scheme was initiated last month.
Posted by: DaveB on 03 May 2008, 11:22 -
Pattaya vendor allotments still not resolved
April 13th was the deadline for an agreement to be reached concerning the umbrella vendors on Pattaya Beach, but with a consensus outstanding the deadline has been pushed up. The local government had organized 108 lots where vendors could ply their trade, along with 266 plots on Jomtien Beach and 20 for the beach at Wong Amat. This apparently wasn’t enough for some vendors, many operating illegally and effectively pushed off their perceived turf with the new lines literally drawn in the sand.
There have been protests outside city hall, and when the mayor failed to show up for the meeting where the allotments and vendors would be announced, further confusion was laid on the subject. More trouble arose as the law came from a provincial level, and many opponents to the new rules say only the mayor can pass such a law. The situation stands as of now unresolved.
Visitors to Pattaya’s beaches will most likely still be able to procure a rented umbrella on the beach, be it from a legal merchant or an illegal one.
Posted by: DaveB on 17 Apr 2008, 18:14