The Thai administration is being prodded to collaborate with Beijing prior to implementing a visa-exemption scheme for Chinese tourists, as the country’s image suffers due to its portrayal as a transit hub for fraudulent activities in recent Chinese media, hindering tourism safety.

 

A Chinese film titled ‘No More Bets’, which revolves around scammer networks in Southeast Asia, grossed a whopping US$505 million in its initial five weeks. The thriller topped China’s box office in August, simultaneously souring Chinese sentiment towards travelling to Southeast Asia, according to Surawat Akaraworamat, vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand.

 

Since March, the region has been witnessing a slump in Chinese tourists, triggered by an incident where Chinese visitors were abducted in Thailand and transported to a neighbouring country. This sentiment was exacerbated by numerous Chinese online content creators highlighting the risks associated with travelling in Thailand, adversely impacting tourism safety in the country.

 

by Alex Morgan

Photo: Yang Wanli/China Daily

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/business/thai-government-urged-to-reassure-china-amid-tourism-safety-concerns

 

-- The Thaiger 2023-09-06

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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The truth comes out in broad daylight, instead of arresting some poor man who forgot to renew his visa complete with photos of the police glorified in the mass media while the Chinese mafia is increasingly rooted in Thailand where they can buy the Visa Elite which offers them the biggest gateway to enter Thailand for their criminal activities.

 

Instead of looking now at China where the truth about Thailand appears, start looking at your home.

 

He is actually haggling for the cost of that trinket.  Free?  no 20 baht

They are thinking why is man dressed as air force wing commander trying to sell me flowers.

Welcome your relatives will receive a basket of fruit and a Wai upon your horizontal departure until then spend as much as you can and can I recommend a boat trip to speed things up enjoy ????    

Why is no one from TAT suing the film maker for tarnishing Thailands whiter than white image

Chinese should be banned from travel until they learn some manners. Uncouth animals at the moment!

Abductions and dodging motorcycles and cars while walking down the sidewalks and over Zebra crossings, with almost nobody following any type of road rules, then there is the Pickup and Taxi drivers who believe they are on the Autobahn, not to mention the many Large Travel Busses and tourist MiniBus crashes in the news regularly. <sarcasm>Yes, a very safe place to bring the family.</sarcasm>

The main reason for Chinese not visiting Thailand is either they'v been seen it all and don't wish to repeat the experience, or they can't afford to come.

Only the Scammers have the funds to come on extended visas and set-up shop.

The roads here are a far greater hazard. Abductions and violence are not common. Accidents on the very dangerous highways are. And the highway patrol is doing nothing to change that, as they absolutely refuse to patrol the highways. 

All movies made in China must be approved by the Chinese Communist Party (i.e. the Governent of China)

 

So much for Thailand's buddy buddy relationship. 

If it means less of "them", then I sincerely hope a few more scandals hit the headlines soon... 

Not only should the Chinese be worried about safety in Thailand. Many Malaysians like me are starting to worry about safety in Thailand too.

 

Of course, abductions are rare. But they do happen.

 

This is one recent case reported in a Chinese-language newspaper in Malaysia:

 

Five Malaysian men and women jumped out of their e-hailing car to avoid being sold as slaves

 

Malaysians are highly sought after by scam syndicates because they are mostly trilinguals. Most Chinese Malaysians can speak Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien), English and Malay.

I think safety concerns fall well below being broke in the tourism stakes