A single mishap can be written off as an isolated incident. But when a problem repeatedly occurs across different locations, time and again, the failure is systematic. It indicates an inability -- or an outright unwillingness -- by stakeholders across the operational chain to intervene, driven either by institutional inertia or vested interests.
The systematic failure in question is tourist overcharging, which continues to tarnish the country's reputation. The issue has surged back into the spotlight thanks to the Cullen HateBerry channel, a highly popular YouTube programme featuring Korean content creators Cullen (Park Ki-deuk), Jung Kyung-tae, and Kim In-yeol, alongside Thai influencer Judy, as they explore Thailand's provinces.
In a recent episode, Cullen and Jung stopped for lunch at Bangsaen Beach. To their viewers' dismay, the duo was hit with a 400-baht fee just to use the beach chairs.
As it turns out, while Saensuk Municipality overseeing Bangsaen Beach set the official rate at a maximum of 50 baht per person, it explicitly permits vendors to charge a higher, lump-sum fee for premium sea-view clusters of six or ten chairs.
Although the vendor in the YouTube video later returned some of the money -- claiming a "calculation error" -- the damage was already done.
An online uproar erupted, with countless viewers echoing the same frustration: they, too, had been exploited by this multi-chair layout. By allowing these seating packages, the municipality seems to have inadvertently given operators a legal loophole to take advantage of tourists.
Beyond the questionable policy, the incident has reignited a debate over basic hospitality standards. Many are wondering whether a "sitting fee" is even justified in the first place when visitors are already paying customers ordering food and drinks from the vendors.
Furthermore, should the public beach become private "properties" for the umbrella and beach chair vendors? Are these amenities necessary?
What is even more discouraging is that this is not the first high-profile exposé of price gouging at popular tourist spots -- and it likely will not be the last. Just last year, a controversy erupted on this very same channel when a vendor at Damnoen Saduak Floating Market overcharged the duo for a pair of elephant pants.
Other influencers and content creators, both Thai and foreign, have continuously exposed similar undesirable practices, from aggressively hawking goods to charging several thousand baht for short rides.
Following these online storms, authorities routinely issue warnings, but the underlying problem persists.
Ultimately, this systematic failure exposes a massive gap between high-level vision and street-level reality. It is embarrassing for the country to announce an ambitious "New Thailand" tourism strategy touting "value over volume", trust, safety and sustainability, while warnings are widely available online telling visitors to "protect" themselves.
When the advice for travellers to Thailand is to "always check menus", "confirm fares before stepping into vehicles", and probably "verify chair counts before sitting down at Bangsaen Beach", the official marketing to bring in more tourists rings hollow.
True sustainability and quality tourism cannot be built on a shaky foundation where visitors must constantly be on guard against basic services.
