April 21st, 2006, 00:51
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Live with it,тАЩ TAT tells complaining Kamala hotels
KAMALA: The losses hotels have suffered from tourists canceling bookings after seeing the rebuilding work on Kamala Beach are just a sacrifice they have to make, Wanchai Ruang-udom, the landscaping coordinator hired to complete the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Kamala beautification project, told the Gazette yesterday.
тАЬThis is a sacrifice they have to make. This project was approved by Kamala beach operators at a public hearing. They understood that after the tsunami something had to be done, that itтАЩs better than leaving the mess on the beach,тАЭ he said.
тАЬWe planned to start this project last October, but because it was the start of the high season we just beautified the public park.
тАЬAnd now itтАЩs the end of the high season, when there are less tourists, we have started digging holes in the sand to make the beachfront walkway. If we wait any longer it will be the rainy season, which will make it very difficult for the contractor to work,тАЭ K. Wanchai explained.
тАЬEvery time IтАЩve been to Kamala, I have explained to people there that the TAT knows that itтАЩs difficult for everybody, especially for the beach chair operators, but we have to do it. They have to consider the final result, which will be good for them in the future,тАЭ he said.
Kwanjai Samani, Executive Assistant Manager of the Layalina Hotel, told the Gazette that the hotel has suffered cancellations since the TAT project began. тАЬGuests who booked their rooms through our website canceled when they arrived because they were shocked by what they saw.
тАЬSome said they would sue us because the website showed a very nice hotel close to the beach without this project in front of it.
тАЬWe complained to the TAT, and asked them to make sure the project ends exactly on schedule, because itтАЩs not only our hotel [that is suffering],тАЭ she said.
The post-tsunami rebuilding started on December 30 last year, and includes a beachfront footpath, public park, tsunami evacuation routes and public restrooms. тАЬThe project is 70% complete, and we are currently landscaping the public park and making the evacuation routes,тАЭ K. Wanchai said.
He explained that large holes have been dug along Kamala Beach for steel supports for the beachfront walkway, and that these will be backfilled when the project is complete.
тАЬWe are trying to complete the project as quickly as possible. Now it looks a little messy, but it will be nice and safe when it is finished,тАЭ K. Wanchai said.
тАЬTomorrow I will go again to check the construction, and I will try to make the people there understand, including the hotel operators. I promise to urge the contractor to finish on schedule by the end of May,тАЭ he added.
Walter Plangenauer, Managing Director of the Layalina resort, said, тАЬItтАЩs necessary, but it should not be done during the high season. Anyway, the job is now in progress and we were told it will be finished in May. We are looking forward to that.
тАЬI think itтАЩs affecting everybody тАУ all the hotels and all the people who rent out houses. It would be good if the TAT tried to organize the manpower and the proper machinery to finish the job quickly тАУ that would be a good solution,тАЭ he said.
Meanwhile, Jaral Sararak, President of Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), said that the concrete walls reinforcing the banks of Klong Pakbang are also due to be finished by the end of May.
тАЬNow, all that requires reinforcing is the banks close to the Kamala Beach Inn, but we are waiting for the tourists to return home. The hotel requested that; they donтАЩt want us to build it before the end of the high season,тАЭ he said.
http://upload3.postimage.org/141178/kamala.jpg (http://upload3.postimage.org/141178/photo_hosting.html)
Not a pretty sight, but the TAT argues
that once finished, its project will make
the Kamala beachfront much
more attractive.
Live with it,тАЩ TAT tells complaining Kamala hotels
KAMALA: The losses hotels have suffered from tourists canceling bookings after seeing the rebuilding work on Kamala Beach are just a sacrifice they have to make, Wanchai Ruang-udom, the landscaping coordinator hired to complete the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Kamala beautification project, told the Gazette yesterday.
тАЬThis is a sacrifice they have to make. This project was approved by Kamala beach operators at a public hearing. They understood that after the tsunami something had to be done, that itтАЩs better than leaving the mess on the beach,тАЭ he said.
тАЬWe planned to start this project last October, but because it was the start of the high season we just beautified the public park.
тАЬAnd now itтАЩs the end of the high season, when there are less tourists, we have started digging holes in the sand to make the beachfront walkway. If we wait any longer it will be the rainy season, which will make it very difficult for the contractor to work,тАЭ K. Wanchai explained.
тАЬEvery time IтАЩve been to Kamala, I have explained to people there that the TAT knows that itтАЩs difficult for everybody, especially for the beach chair operators, but we have to do it. They have to consider the final result, which will be good for them in the future,тАЭ he said.
Kwanjai Samani, Executive Assistant Manager of the Layalina Hotel, told the Gazette that the hotel has suffered cancellations since the TAT project began. тАЬGuests who booked their rooms through our website canceled when they arrived because they were shocked by what they saw.
тАЬSome said they would sue us because the website showed a very nice hotel close to the beach without this project in front of it.
тАЬWe complained to the TAT, and asked them to make sure the project ends exactly on schedule, because itтАЩs not only our hotel [that is suffering],тАЭ she said.
The post-tsunami rebuilding started on December 30 last year, and includes a beachfront footpath, public park, tsunami evacuation routes and public restrooms. тАЬThe project is 70% complete, and we are currently landscaping the public park and making the evacuation routes,тАЭ K. Wanchai said.
He explained that large holes have been dug along Kamala Beach for steel supports for the beachfront walkway, and that these will be backfilled when the project is complete.
тАЬWe are trying to complete the project as quickly as possible. Now it looks a little messy, but it will be nice and safe when it is finished,тАЭ K. Wanchai said.
тАЬTomorrow I will go again to check the construction, and I will try to make the people there understand, including the hotel operators. I promise to urge the contractor to finish on schedule by the end of May,тАЭ he added.
Walter Plangenauer, Managing Director of the Layalina resort, said, тАЬItтАЩs necessary, but it should not be done during the high season. Anyway, the job is now in progress and we were told it will be finished in May. We are looking forward to that.
тАЬI think itтАЩs affecting everybody тАУ all the hotels and all the people who rent out houses. It would be good if the TAT tried to organize the manpower and the proper machinery to finish the job quickly тАУ that would be a good solution,тАЭ he said.
Meanwhile, Jaral Sararak, President of Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), said that the concrete walls reinforcing the banks of Klong Pakbang are also due to be finished by the end of May.
тАЬNow, all that requires reinforcing is the banks close to the Kamala Beach Inn, but we are waiting for the tourists to return home. The hotel requested that; they donтАЩt want us to build it before the end of the high season,тАЭ he said.
http://upload3.postimage.org/141178/kamala.jpg (http://upload3.postimage.org/141178/photo_hosting.html)
Not a pretty sight, but the TAT argues
that once finished, its project will make
the Kamala beachfront much
more attractive.