well i should have clarified but the article was already too long. When Koreans and Russians were a very high portion of the tourist mix, a lot of Korean and Russian nationals were working as tour guides, many of them doing so without a work permit. The reasoning behind this was simple: Work permits are prohibitively expensive and difficult to acquire and the workers will filling a void that the Thais are incapable or unwilling to fill. I mean in achieving absolute fluency in either of these incredibly difficult languages.
My ex worked for one of these companies and they employed 2 Thai girls who had Masters Degrees in Korean..... these two girls could barely have a basic conversation in Korean and they were seen as the "best at it" by their respective universities.
I'm not saying the Korean workers could speak Thai fluently, because they damn sure couldn't, but they spoke English. The rich Koreans and Russians that were participating in these tour groups were paying top dollar to have a completely "hassle free" vacation and part of this is interacting with someone that understands everything they are saying, effortlessly.
However, a "they took our jerbs!" movement began and these industries were cracked down on. In the absence of these workers, the customers, the high-end tourists from these nations, also stopped coming.
Everyone knew they were working illegally, but they were providing thousands of dollars a day in revenue for businesses that are paying tax. Know, i know it is technically against the law, but some laws dont make sense. Each of these companies (just the two that I am familiar with) also employed dozens of Thai people.
When the government cracked down all the agencies shut up shop and when they did, likely thousands of Thais were out of work and millions of dollars a year in tourism revenue ... poof! disappeared in one season.
Long reply, but i know you are one of the only people out there that is likely to read such a novella.
Ah, okay, that makes a lot of sense. It is actually funny that you mention that because a while ago (actually a long time ago) I took a trip to Mackinaw Island which is one of the tourist highlights of our state. I did one of the carriage ride tours and it is funny the number of Russian and Foreign nationals that come over and become tour guides. It actually makes a lot of sense now based on what you are saying. I didn't think about it at the time. I just noticed that pretty much every tour guide had a thick European or Eastern European accent. I was a bit shocked at the long reply,but it was totally warranted now that I read it :)
LOL. I read it :)
I wonder why the Thai government didn't just do the maths and create a special work permit program for this industry - legalising them and keeping the income.
i think it is probably because government rarely does anything that is based on reason and math... they just reacted and are now paying the price :(