As you can see outlined above, it is not difficult to have an effective way of cracking down on such unsavoury practices. We’re halfway there with the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. It just needs a bit of political will, a few tweaks to the law and a willingness to spend a bit of money supporting an office that actively pursues claims on behalf of tourists.
But as I am also painfully aware, political will to do right by the common man — sorry for the traditional, sexist expression, but “common person” still sounds strange — can be a rare thing in Singapore. Dismayingly, government departments and government-linked organisations often prefer to launch (pricey) public relations campaigns to sugarcoat problems than fix the problems themselves. I hope, at least in this case, I am wrong, but perhaps readers may want to monitor whether in the longer run the Singapore Tourism Board will respond to the Pham Van Thoai incident and the bad press it has generated internationally with a media blitz in target countries or with real solutions domestically, as I have outlined.
http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/how-to-help-ripped-off-tourists/
But as I am also painfully aware, political will to do right by the common man — sorry for the traditional, sexist expression, but “common person” still sounds strange — can be a rare thing in Singapore. Dismayingly, government departments and government-linked organisations often prefer to launch (pricey) public relations campaigns to sugarcoat problems than fix the problems themselves. I hope, at least in this case, I am wrong, but perhaps readers may want to monitor whether in the longer run the Singapore Tourism Board will respond to the Pham Van Thoai incident and the bad press it has generated internationally with a media blitz in target countries or with real solutions domestically, as I have outlined.
http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/how-to-help-ripped-off-tourists/
