Mandatory TDA membership

[stiggy]

We are getting very different feedback from TAT in Bangkok...Also TAT In Australia and EU.The Austrade commission have also picked up on this, as its far from fair trade practices they (CMAS) are taking up.

Naturally The TDA AKA CMAS are happy to have all believe its mandatory.:mooner:

The TAT is set up to promote tourism from overseas not Enforce diving regulations.

To put it bluntly Thailand is full of laws that are not enforced or are enforced sporadically.

• Helmet whilst riding Bike
• Every foreign national must have a Work Permit
• All vessels must carry insurance
• Each work permit issued must have minimum amount of Thais employed to offset.
• Foreign nationals cant own property
• and on and on and on.

I'm sure PADI / SSI and others will be having fun with this at DEMA. Lets see how the government reacts to hundreds of thousands of dollars of offshore advertising being pulled or CMAS TDA cards not being recognized buy other agencies in the future.

I'm all for tighter legislation that's sensible in the Thai dive industry, An association should recognize all agencies, not just be used by CMAS to force/steal market share and line the pockets of those involved.

Anyhow im sure the government will change again before this takes hold, or perhaps all the divers in Thailand can stage an underwater Coup......

 

[Bowmouth]

A letter we received from PADI today:

Dear PADI IRRA member,

It has been brought to our attention that a new regulation appears to have been introduced by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
The new regulation allegedly requires dive centres in Thailand to be a member of the TDA Diving Association (Thailand) and have on staff a CMAS 2* instructor in order to either obtain or renew the obligatory TAT license.
PADI has not received any notification from the authorities in Thailand regarding this regulation which has yet to be communicated officially and in writing. Although our initial inquiries to the relevant authorities have remained unanswered, I would like to assure you of PADI’s support in this matter.
We are concerned that this development will only serve to curtail the diving industry in Thailand, and we are taking necessary steps to ensure that you can continue to operate in a professional manner, in support of the diving industry in Thailand and whilst maintaining your professional integrity without incurring unnecessary cost and inconveniences. We are cognizant of the importance of this matter and I thank you for your patience until we have found a logical solution
If you have any concerns in this matter that wish to discuss with us please feel free to contact either myself or any of our management staff who are at your service.

Sincerely,


Henrik C. Nimb
Vice President, Marketing, Education & Business Development
PADI Asia Pacific

 

[katdiver]

It seems such a shame that when the TDA was given the chance to bring the whole of the dive industry of Thailand to become a driving force towards excellence, it should choose to exploit rather than unite. Change will come, but damage has been done, and to the very members that should give the organisation its strength. The change should come soon in the revision of the TDA constitution rather than by litigation. I'm sure the greater CMAS comunity must be embarrassed by this too. I am no legel expert, but maybe the current position of the TDA is open to challenge of unfair trading (it describes itself as a charity), or for simple breach of human rights. Would they be willing to stand in court and say that all the other diving agencies of the world are not fit to support standards of excellence that the Thailand dive industry has rightly set and earnt? It's also sad that the government in bringing in these laws saw no need to safeguard against these sort of practices by not checking what the TDA intended to do, or maybe were unaware of the impact. The TDA as an all inclusive organisation is what we need.

 

[Bowmouth]

The TDA as an all inclusive organisation is what we need.

What we really needed was the continuation of the DOCT (Dive Operators Club of Thailand). If Thailand based dive operators had put a bit more effort in keeping the DOCT alive the TDA would NEVER had any chance. There were some VERY good people (dive operators) actively involved in the DOCT but the majority of its members were either too lazy to really join events organized by the DOCT, show up on club meetings and/or fill committee positions.
Now we all may have to deal with what could become something very unpleasant.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Not in Thailand but maybe you should read the CMAS certs before dismissing it. Higher than PADI's.What's wrong with instructors and their students being held to higher standards?

 

[katdiver]

Would you trust an organisation that basically holds the power to stop you trading even though you may have excelled in all fields? Would you trust an organisation that pulls a stunt like this? Who knows we haven't already been blackballed just for discussing this. I trust PADI and that was by choice and reputation.

I am a single instructor operation, I must "convert or die", and it's just another expense and a compulsion to push another certification than my core product. My customers come to me and ask for PADI.

expense = cross over, annual fees for me plus my shop, time out to do cross over, try to sell CMAS in order to maintain my grade or lose it.

 

[Bowmouth]

What's wrong with instructors and their students being held to higher standards?

There's nothing wrong with CMAS or its standards. The point is that dive operators and instructors here may be forced to teach the CMAS system if they want to stay in business.
Now that's not really something most of us are looking forward to.

 

[stevenl]

Jim,

What would you think if all DC's and instructors in the USA were forced to become SSI members, and issue a certain number of SSI certifications each year?

Regarding the DOCT: agree with you Bowmouth, but the DOCT was basically a Phuket organisation. I think one organisation representing all Thailand DC's makes a lot of sense, with maybe sub groups for the different regions.

 

[Bowmouth]

Jim,
Regarding the DOCT: agree with you Bowmouth, but the DOCT was basically a Phuket organisation. I think one organisation representing all Thailand DC's makes a lot of sense, with maybe sub groups for the different regions.

The DOCT was started in Phuket by a group of Phuket based dive operators but was meant to be a club for all of Thailand's dive operators. Unfortunately few non-Phuket dive operators were interested in joining the club; I think mainly because they were at that time not threatened in their area with (outrageous) new rules and regulations implemented by the local Thai authorities as we were in Phuket.

A problem in the past was also the fact that many Thailand based dive operators just didn't seem to want to work together and to raise the overall standards of the dive industry.
I'm not sure if that has changed over the years and I seriously doubt if the local diving community is really able to unite and get their act together.
Fact is though that sooner or later others (Thai Government, TDA, local administration officers etc) will give us a new sets of rules and regulations that will affect our businesses in one way or another like it or not...

 

[katdiver]

A problem in the past was also the fact that many Thailand based dive operators just didn't seem to want to work together and to raise the overall standards of the dive industry.
I'm not sure if that has changed over the years and I seriously doubt if the local diving community is really able to unite and get their act together.
Fact is though that sooner or later others (Thai Government, TDA, local administration officers etc) will give us a new sets of rules and regulations that will affect our businesses in one way or another like it or not...

Now it appears the TDA will set the regulations. We all join and it puts the control back in the hands of the greater Thailand dive industry, which I think you all agree would be best. Control of the TDA is chosen by the members at the AGM, so get out and vote! The current TDA membership has chosen this course to boost some current members income at the expense of the industry, it's up to all the membership to decide if this is reasonable and vote accordingly.