by Dr. Iain
Corness
The
director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Central Office (TAT) in
Pattaya, covering Chonburi to Samutprakarn, is Niti Kongrut. He is not
your average government official, being somewhat of a free-thinker and a
philosopher behind his outward appearance of the happy-go-lucky man in the
tropical shirt and patchwork jeans.
Niti was born in Bangkok. His father (now retired) was
a policeman, and his mother he described as a professional gambler! I
suggested that perhaps we shouldn’t write that, but he replied,
“It’s OK. I’m proud of that.” (So I’ve left it in!)
His father was transferred around Bangkok and Thailand
in his police duties, and Niti and his two younger sisters moved schools
with him. He finished his high school at the Bangkok Christian College -
“My father moved to the police station next door,” said Niti.
He finished school when he was 19 years old, having to
do an extra year because he had been “enjoying life too much,” all
said with a grin! His father wanted him to join the police force, but this
was not for Niti. “After seeing his life, I said, no way!” He wanted
to go to university, but again the pursuits of pleasure kept him back and
he failed the entrance examinations. However, he enjoyed the student life
and so spent a year with the AUA in Bangkok, after which his father packed
him off to the Philippines to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Business
Administration. “I wanted to become a manager, with a minor in gambling
and drinking,” said Niti. That may help explain why his degree course
took six years!
Returning to Bangkok, it was time for Niti to join the
‘real’ world and he took a job as an advertising salesman in the
publishing industry. This covered all the media, print, magazine, radio
and TV, and he lived well for the next six years.
One magazine that he came across was produced by the
TAT, but, in Niti’s words, “It was lousy.” He approached the then
governor of the TAT with ideas on how to make the magazine work for them,
but was told that if he really believed that the magazine would work, he
should join TAT and work for them, to make it happen. He held out for a
while but eventually agreed to join them to push the magazine. “I took
three days to make up my mind, and even when I took the job I didn’t
know what the salary was or the benefits package.”
One month later he knew, when he received 3,700 baht in
his pay envelope. He approached his boss and asked what about the
commissions on the advertising he had sold for the magazine, to be told
that the government didn’t pay commissions! Similarly, it didn’t pay
for his expenses either. Suddenly he had gone from a post with a great
expense account, to penury.
He spoke about this with his mother, since she had been
so pleased that he had joined the government service, rather than spending
his time entertaining clients in Patpong in the evenings. She implored him
to stay there in a stable job, and she promised she would support him and
pay him to the same level as the government. “So I stayed, but Mum only
paid the first month!”
After two years he closed down the TAT publication and
went into their advertising section. Having to go through the government
processes which entailed accepting the lowest tender for printing,
resulted in unacceptable quality, as far as Niti was concerned. “With
poor quality you end up with no advertisers.”
He spent five years in the advertising section, but it
was time for a transfer. He was given the choice of assistant director in
London, or director in Phuket. Blue skies and golden sands were much more
attractive than grey skies and wet pavements, and Niti settled in to
Phuket.
However, after four years, the new incumbent in the
role as governor of the TAT decided that Niti was enjoying Phuket more
than the tourists and a transfer was in order again. Salesman Niti tried
to swing the concept of his becoming regional director, floating around
the Andaman Sea in a yacht, doing everything by phone. Needless to say,
the new governor was not impressed and Niti was sent to Los Angeles.
This time it was Niti who was not impressed. “This
was the hardest time in my whole life. I was responsible for the west
coast of America, half of Canada, all of Mexico and Latin America, and I
had four staff. I was home for ten days every month. My life was airports
and hotels. I lasted four years and fifteen days!”
He returned to Bangkok, to the advertising section of
the TAT again, this time as the director, but was soon sent to
Phitsanulok, where he enjoyed having a car, trekking in the national
forests and an entertainment budget again. However, with the director of
the local Pattaya office being moved to Bangkok, they needed someone here.
It was time for Niti to move once more.
He enjoys being in Pattaya, and believes that he can
change the standing of our town. The first thing he has done is to drop
the ‘Extreme City’ and change it to ‘The City of Variety’. He can
also see ways to rid Pattaya of the ‘Sin City’ reputation, but adds
that it is Pattaya itself that must want to change, not just TAT. A very
philosophical approach.
Niti’s hobbies include “Drinking with friends,”
doing business the Thai way. He also enjoys golf, as you can socialize
after the rounds, and diving, “You don’t have to answer the phone!”
As far as his future ambition is concerned, Niti said,
“I want to be the resident manager of a small hotel. I don’t need a
salary, just membership to a golf club and an unlimited entertainment
budget. I’ve got a lot of friends!”
Khun Niti, I’m sure you have!
