Cha-am in a huff over Hua Hin

You would expect Cha-am and Hua Hin hoteliers would be singing off the same hymn sheet. They are neighbours on the same stretch of beach. Some are so close to each other they can count the bath mats hanging out to dry. Others are mite further, perhaps 20 km up the beach trail.
Well, it appears that some influential folk probably have nothing better to do than to complain that Cha-am is overshadowed by its neighbour. Apparently, they are miffed that the government’s public relations experts publicised the Asean summit as hosted in Hua Hin, when in fact the meetings straddled border into neighbouring Cha-am.

I have often wondered why the Tourism Authority of Thailand has two offices – one in Hua Hin and the other in Cha-am – separated by a few kilometres of sand, hotels and apartment blocks.

Someone once said I would have to travel to Supan Buri province to find the answer to that mysterious riddle.

It would certainly make sense in these days of budget constraints if a single TAT director could open an office bang on the border line of these two resort districts so he could represent both of them equally. Positioned strategically, the district border could run through the reception hall all the way to the kitchen – half of the stove in Cha-am and half in Hua Hin. Sadly, that is not to be. Flush with cash, the TAT can afford the luxury of two offices 20 km apart.

We can concede that government officials, who declared the summit was being hosted in Hua Hin, were a little confused over the border line between the two resorts. In a nutshell its all in messing up the names of hotels.

It might be true that the main venues, Dusit Thani Hua Hin and Sheraton Hua Hin are actually located on Cha-am soil, but who are we to accuse the owners of not knowing where their hotels were actually located when they went about the task of deciding appropriate names for their palaces?

They must have peeped at their land title deeds and seen the stamp of the Cha-am land office.

Dusit Thani Hua Hin, with a polo club attached, was the first five-star property on this stretch of the Gulf of Thailand. You would have to ask the group’s marketing gurus why they always thought they were living in Hua Hin.

Most of the hot air on this subject was emitted by a “furious” Petchaburi province senator, who saw an opportunity to get her name in local newspapers. She probably wanted to up-stage Asean leaders on a very slow news day.

Predictably, the senator and other people who have time on their hands lodged a complaint.

Hello, we are in the midst of a global recession, folks, and all we can think about, when Asean leaders arrive in town, is the sad fact that Cha-am was forgotten on the invitation card credits.

After all this fuss we could be forgiven for thinking there is a barb wire fence and chasm separating the two resort. It might as well be.

In fact, the division gets worse. The two resorts are actually in different provinces – Hua Hin resides in Prachuab Khiri Khan and Cha-am to the north in Petchaburi.

Chasms aside, little does the senator know that savvy tourists are quite happy that Hua Hin hogs the Asean limelight. That way they can still enjoy the quieter side of life, north of town at reasonable rates and without Hua Hin’s notorious traffic jams.

A fuss over being elite.

What’s all the fuss about the Thailand Elite Card, which is now heading for the proverbial gurgler at an alarming speed?

After months of serious studies, experts have decided the government doesn’t have too many options.

It can terminate the project and pay off disgruntled members some of whom might decide to take the government to court. Good luck to them.

Then it was suggested that the government could park the project in “tick-over mode,” allowing the current members to still enjoy some of the privileges, but ultimately the card would fade into obscurity.

Finally it could ask the private sector to bail out the project with investment.

Dream on guys, I doubt if anyone in the travel or credit card business would pick up this hot potato.

As long as there are no guarantees that government agencies would relinquish their stake for a token baht coin to buy out the debts and take over 2,500 odd memberships, the last option just doesn’t fly.

Of course, the government could cut its loses and hand the whole project over to the likes of Visa and Mastercard to create a card with premier services such as a five-year visa. It woul also function as a top-of-the line credit card – super titanium or some other precious metal.

Right now the elite card flies like cast iron kettle.