Misguided policy
Re: "B10,000 fine for drinking in pubs after hours", (Online, Sept 17)" & "Alcohol plans baffle industry", (Editorial, Sept 21).
I wonder if the Department of Provincial Administration ever thought about what effect it might have on tourism when it threatens tourists with a 10,000-baht fine for "drinking alcoholic beverages after-hours in premises where alcohol is available for either sale or consumption", especially at a time when Thailand's tourist numbers are down as visitors seek other destinations.
Do they not realise that potential tourists will read this and decide perhaps they should holiday in countries where tourists are not treated like children?
Tarquin Chufflebottom
Revise the numbers
Re: "Tourism crash", (PostBag, Sept 18).
It boggles one's mind where Jason A Jellison got his numbers from.
Foreign tourist numbers from Jan 1 to Sept 14, 2025, were (after a drop of 7.1%) some 23 million, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry.
That implies that in the same period in 2024 there were some 24.75 million foreign visitors (because 2025's 23 million is about 92.9% of 2024's number).
So, Jason, that is a drop of 1.75 million, and not 7 million foreign tourists (a whopping 75% difference!) as you make us believe.
Furthermore, the average expenditure per head in 2024 and 2025 is about 34,000 baht and 44,000 baht, respectively, according to Tourism and Sports Ministry.
Again, the figure of 60,000 baht in 2025 just doesn't tally up.
S de Jong
Typically Trump
Re: "People killed in US boat strike 'not Tren de Aragua'", (World, Sept 13).
If you were cruising in a speedboat on a drug run, would you really invite 11 people along for the ride? I mean, that's like filling the boat with useless deadweight instead of the good stuff!
Not to mention, all that extra weight is going to slow you down and make you an easy target for the US Navy gunners with itchy fingers.
And wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to board and seize evidence? Killing 11 people based on made-up evidence (that cannot now be proven one way or the other) is not legal anywhere in the world -- not in the US, not in Venezuela. It smacks of the The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Wild-West, gun-for-hire movie mentality. Typical Trump.
ML Saksiri Kridakorn
Irrational rationale
Re: "Disaster beckons", "Upping the ante" & "Tourism crash", (PostBag, Sept 18).
The first letter in the Sept 18 edition slated the land bridge proposal, citing the cost and urging better use of finances.
I'm still not sure how this undertaking actually works, be it rail, road, both.
The writer urges better use of the government coffers and helping the most needy. Good intention, but that rarely happens.
The second one focused on the migrant crisis in England, which is faced with uncontrollable waves of supposed asylum seekers "looking for a better life", who often end up getting housed in nice hotels with three meals a day, pocket money and many other benefits for their entertainment.
This magnanimity would seem incredulous to your average Thai along with the rest of the world, and of course, acts as a magnet to those searching greener pastures.
The third missive, "Tourism crash", well, to be honest I haven't a clue.
I've re-read it many times, but I can't make head or tails what this chap was on about, though there was a reference to the "cannabis crisis".
Irrational rationale, possibly?
Ian Dann
Time to act
Re: "Pit bull mauls two-month-old girl to death", (BP, Sept 18).
My prediction is the pit bull named "Big" that killed a two-month-old baby was not shot on the spot, nor will it be put down later, either.
Pathetic state of affairs.
Please follow up this issue and subsequent law enforcement.
Chris Allen
