Both forms of “sharing” platforms have globally shaken up their respective markets, and a poor joke is that proponents for both keep clamouring that their popularity marks the arrival of a new world order forged by the Age of the Internet, where the people rule.
If a deregulated – or at best self-regulated – market is what the people want, then the government is stuck with the dilemma of having to serve the people who elected it and protect them from their own choices.
To this, let’s just keep in mind why hotel and taxi laws were passed in the first place, and Thailand didn’t pull its versions out of thin air – they were copied from Western countries with developed economies.
We can always argue that some laws are made for the benefit of a few people, while others for the benefit of most people – but we can all agree that most laws are not introduced to prevent good people from going about their business, they are introduced to protect the unsuspecting public from bad people.
Enter the need for at least some laws and regulations. Thailand has not been alone with this quandary. Governments around the world have tried in vain to contain the likes of Airbnb and Uber, to no avail.
We can giggle about how well laws are enforced in this fine country, but there is no argument that this week we witnessed just how fast harm to a tourism destination’s reputation can be done by just one unregulated driver. The news spreads faster than ever, and playing catch-up saying the damage has been contained never has the same reach. Bad news will always have the edge on good news.
And this comes while Thailand is struggling to come to terms with its new identity on the global tourism stage. Thailand can no longer sell itself solely as a cheap destination for the mass market, and has yet to form a solid foundation in its varied attractions to create a dependable baseline that is nowhere near as buoyant as it is now. In tourism, Thailand right now is finding itself somewhere in between and the flatlining growth in tourist arrivals shows it clearly.
Perhaps the solution for our ride-sharing and accommodation-sharing future lies right there, somewhere in between what the people want, and what they really need.