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BANGKOK: A volatile mix of Viagra, alcohol and reckless motorbike riding takes a heavy toll on Thailand's tourists, and every year hundreds fail to survive their holiday in the kingdom.
"The tourist death toll amounts to more than two Bali bomb attacks every year just from recklessness," said Steven Martin, co-author of the Lonely Planet Thailand guide book.
"At home people wouldn't dream of having a few margaritas, renting a motorcycle without a license and then riding around in a bikini and no helmet, it's the holiday mind-frame," he said.
Of some 9.7 million tourists who came to Thailand last year, British citizens recorded the highest number of deaths with 148, while there were 137 from the United States, 120 from Germany and 73 from Japan.
Thailand's tourist police recorded only 119 tourist deaths last year, but 10 embassies representing just under half the foreign nationals visiting the kingdom in 2003 reported at least 595 fatalities.
While the causes of death varied -- Japan had a high suicide rate with 13 of its citizens killing themselves in Thailand -- traffic accidents, alcohol and impotency drugs proved to be the biggest killers.
Martin said Thai authorities and the travel industry had worked hard over the past decade to make the kingdom as safe as possible, but it was powerless to enforce common sense.
"Each country is different so even if you think you know how to ride a motorbike well, you might not be used to coconut trucks, stray dogs and livestock at each curve, not to mention the Asian style of driving."
While traffic accidents involving rental bikes are one of the biggest killers, Viagra -- usually mixed with alcohol and physical overload -- is another, according to embassy officials.
Despite government efforts to quash the kingdom's reputation as Asia's red light capital, Thailand continues to attract millions of sex tourists each year, many of them elderly men.
"It's a combination of old age, alcohol, the hot and humid climate in Thailand that Europeans are not used to, certain kinds of medication and above-average physical exhaustion," said Karsten Tietz, head of consul at the German embassy.
"They have fun, they're on their vacation, they drink more than at home and tend to be a lot less cautious."
Travel industry experts say Thailand's disproportionately high tourist death toll is the result of its attracting a huge volume of tourists while also offering high-risk activities typically found in less well-trodden places.
"There are many contributing factors to this," said John Koldowski, spokesman for the Bangkok-based Pacific Asia Travel Association.
"But primarily Thailand is the region's main tourism hub and the bulk of people coming here are geared towards having a good time rather than being here on business."
Diplomats said thousands of tourists injured each year also risked financial problems due to their careless behaviour.
"Drink driving or driving without a licence means that you have broken the law and your insurance will not cover any of your injuries," said Warren Macilwain from the Australian embassy.
"A young man crashed recently in the far north with serious injuries and no insurance and his family could not afford the medivac (medical evacuation) back to Australia," he said. "People forget these things run into tens of thousands of dollars."
Those dealing directly with the victims and their families said they continued to be shocked by the avoidable nature of many of the deaths.
"Every case is different and you never get used to telling a mother her child has died, that your brother has died, it is awful, and usually very traumatic for the family," said Ursula Simon from the German embassy.
"The hardest is when you contact someone and they don't know what to do, or can't talk about it, and especially when the people don't care about the person who has died," she said.
Simon said holidaymakers should not fall into the trap of thinking that different rules abroad meant no rules at all.
"Take the same safety precautions you would at home, but be even more vigilant," she said.
Thai mortician Hirun Phurdnampetch, who has spent more than two decades dealing with the remains of dead tourists from Europe and the United States, has a similar message.
"When a foreigner dies it is usually on a motorbike, riding without skill or protective clothing and usually in the most popular places like Pattaya and Samui, with heart attacks the second biggest cause," said Hirun.
"If they would just not drink so much, be sensible and wear a helmet if they must ride a motorbike, it would mean a lot less work for me."
-- AFP 2004-03-18
"The tourist death toll amounts to more than two Bali bomb attacks every year just from recklessness," said Steven Martin, co-author of the Lonely Planet Thailand guide book.
"At home people wouldn't dream of having a few margaritas, renting a motorcycle without a license and then riding around in a bikini and no helmet, it's the holiday mind-frame," he said.
Of some 9.7 million tourists who came to Thailand last year, British citizens recorded the highest number of deaths with 148, while there were 137 from the United States, 120 from Germany and 73 from Japan.
Thailand's tourist police recorded only 119 tourist deaths last year, but 10 embassies representing just under half the foreign nationals visiting the kingdom in 2003 reported at least 595 fatalities.
While the causes of death varied -- Japan had a high suicide rate with 13 of its citizens killing themselves in Thailand -- traffic accidents, alcohol and impotency drugs proved to be the biggest killers.
Martin said Thai authorities and the travel industry had worked hard over the past decade to make the kingdom as safe as possible, but it was powerless to enforce common sense.
"Each country is different so even if you think you know how to ride a motorbike well, you might not be used to coconut trucks, stray dogs and livestock at each curve, not to mention the Asian style of driving."
While traffic accidents involving rental bikes are one of the biggest killers, Viagra -- usually mixed with alcohol and physical overload -- is another, according to embassy officials.
Despite government efforts to quash the kingdom's reputation as Asia's red light capital, Thailand continues to attract millions of sex tourists each year, many of them elderly men.
"It's a combination of old age, alcohol, the hot and humid climate in Thailand that Europeans are not used to, certain kinds of medication and above-average physical exhaustion," said Karsten Tietz, head of consul at the German embassy.
"They have fun, they're on their vacation, they drink more than at home and tend to be a lot less cautious."
Travel industry experts say Thailand's disproportionately high tourist death toll is the result of its attracting a huge volume of tourists while also offering high-risk activities typically found in less well-trodden places.
"There are many contributing factors to this," said John Koldowski, spokesman for the Bangkok-based Pacific Asia Travel Association.
"But primarily Thailand is the region's main tourism hub and the bulk of people coming here are geared towards having a good time rather than being here on business."
Diplomats said thousands of tourists injured each year also risked financial problems due to their careless behaviour.
"Drink driving or driving without a licence means that you have broken the law and your insurance will not cover any of your injuries," said Warren Macilwain from the Australian embassy.
"A young man crashed recently in the far north with serious injuries and no insurance and his family could not afford the medivac (medical evacuation) back to Australia," he said. "People forget these things run into tens of thousands of dollars."
Those dealing directly with the victims and their families said they continued to be shocked by the avoidable nature of many of the deaths.
"Every case is different and you never get used to telling a mother her child has died, that your brother has died, it is awful, and usually very traumatic for the family," said Ursula Simon from the German embassy.
"The hardest is when you contact someone and they don't know what to do, or can't talk about it, and especially when the people don't care about the person who has died," she said.
Simon said holidaymakers should not fall into the trap of thinking that different rules abroad meant no rules at all.
"Take the same safety precautions you would at home, but be even more vigilant," she said.
Thai mortician Hirun Phurdnampetch, who has spent more than two decades dealing with the remains of dead tourists from Europe and the United States, has a similar message.
"When a foreigner dies it is usually on a motorbike, riding without skill or protective clothing and usually in the most popular places like Pattaya and Samui, with heart attacks the second biggest cause," said Hirun.
"If they would just not drink so much, be sensible and wear a helmet if they must ride a motorbike, it would mean a lot less work for me."
-- AFP 2004-03-18
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