To the Editor,
I had to chuckle at the Chiang Mai Night Safari Park item (back page -
November 13 - 19). It appears that Khun Plodprasob and others involved are
at their old game of confusing the public again. He is the gentleman who
decided that foreigners should pay 200 baht to enter the National Parks and
the Thais 20 baht. Even he has been outdone as his suggestion that
foreigners should pay 400 and Thais 250 baht to enter the night safari park
may not come about. In the first paragraph of your article it was suggested,
by the deputy governor of Chiang Mai, that both foreigners and Thais should
pay the same fee. Fairness at last I thought but not for long when I read
that the fee should be 800 baht!
There would be some doubt about the popularity of the
park at the lower prices but at the grossly inflated price of 800 baht it
doesn’t stand a chance. The Thais, I feel fairly safe in predicting, will
not be in attendance and the only foreigners who might attend would be the
package tour groups where the price is hidden in the cost of the tour.
I for one will not be visiting this park stocked with
rented animals; they couldn’t even afford to buy them, after spending 1
billion baht I’m not surprised. Finally I am not surprised either that the
private sector is not confident of the park’s success, it’s far easier
to spend taxpayers’ money than ask businesses to part with hard earned
revenue.
Finally, I noticed that Chiang Mai locals would pay
100-170 baht and now that we have done away with the difference between
foreigners and Thais does that mean that us locally retired expats can get
in for that price? Somehow I don’t think so!
Yours sincerely,
Tony Ball
