Pattaya’s shiny tourist image is taking a battering and city leaders are scrambling to clean it up. In a dramatic crackdown this week, police swept through beaches, bridges and backstreets, clearing homeless encampments, beggars, and suspected human trafficking victims in an attempt to reclaim public spaces.
The operation, ordered by Mayor Poramet Ngampichet, brought together municipal police, the Social Welfare Office, city planners, the Office of Public Order, the Chon Buri Protection Centre for the Homeless and the Take Care Kids Foundation.
Teams fanned out across notorious hotspots, including Pattaya Beach Road, the Bali Hai flyover, Pratumnak Soi 5 and Yinyom Beach, after a flood of complaints from residents and businesses.
Officials insisted this wasn’t just a cosmetic sweep.
“This is a coordinated effort to assist,” a spokesperson said, urging the public to report any child exploitation, forced begging or human trafficking to the 1300 hotline, which operates around the clock.
But as photos of the raids circulated online, Pattaya residents unleashed a torrent of criticism, accusing the city of staging a PR stunt instead of offering real solutions.
“You chase them off in the morning, and they’re back by evening, same people, same place,” one frustrated local wrote.
“Try Soi Rung Land or the old bank near Pattaya Land 13/4, drug addicts gambling openly in the morning,” another added.
Some slammed the spectacle as “a media event,” while others questioned why the city wasn’t investing in proper shelters, addiction treatment and immigration enforcement, reported Pattaya Mail.
“They’re people too,” one commenter posted. “Maybe help them instead of just moving them around.”
Others were blunt about the impact on Pattaya’s international reputation.
“Tourists walk by and see people urinating, sleeping and begging on the beach — how is this a world-class city?”
“I’m from here. Born and raised. We want Pattaya to be clean, safe and worthy of its reputation again,” said another lifelong resident.
There was no shortage of dark humour and scepticism about how long the clean-up would last.
“Smells like development. Wow, Thailand’s improving,” one commenter joked.
“Cleaning the city… where should we send them? Back under the flyover by morning?”
Some locals pointed fingers at deeper issues — from unchecked immigration to the lack of outreach programmes.
“You need laws, shelters and real support. This isn’t just a police issue,” one resident urged.
For now, Pattaya’s streets may look cleaner, but locals warn the city’s social problems remain firmly in the shadows.
The story Pattaya’s purge: Homeless camps cleared in sweeping crackdown as seen on Thaiger News.
