PM Tackles Fake News to Protect Tourism Industry

[webfact]

    
BANGKOK (NNT) - Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has initiated a coordinated effort to combat fake news that negatively impacts potential visitors, particularly focusing on Chinese tourists, to protect the tourism industry.

 

In a recent meeting, key figures, including the Minister of Tourism and Sports, the Assistant Chief of Police, the Police Commissioner, the head of the Immigration Bureau, and the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, were called upon by the prime minister to develop strategies to counter misinformation.

 

Reports suggest that fake news, both from domestic and international sources, has been influencing tourists’ perceptions of safety in Thailand. Srettha emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring Thailand remains a secure and welcoming destination.

 

As Thailand prepares to welcome more tourists, the premier said these measures are crucial for maintaining the country’s reputation as a top travel destination and safeguarding the tourism sector’s significant contribution to the national economy.

 

by Krajangwit Johjit

 

Full story: NNT 2023-11-25

 

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[Stocky]

Close down TAT, the ultimate purveyors of fake news

[connda]

People shooting up Thai malls isn't "fake news."  It happened.  Other shootings, knife and machete attacks, and assaults on tourist do happen.  We read about them all of the time, especially here on AN/TV.

So dear Srettha and friends.  Work on the societal problems that create the conditions that scare away tourists.  That isn't accomplished by censoring factual information that doesn't fit the narrative that the Thai government wishes to spin by calling factual information "fake news."

Edited November 25, 2023 by connda

[TroubleandGrumpy]

So that boat disaster that happened a few years ago killing all those Chinese tourists, and which resulted in the Thai authorities FINALLY trying to do something to regulate and control the dangerous cowboy boat businesses, will now be tagged as 'mis-information'?? 

 

Thailand is desperate - the economy is broken - they are desperately seeking more tourists.  But shutting down negative media stories about Thailand's endemic corruption, murders, road deaths, boat sinkings, accidental deaths, rapes, bike hire accidents and deaths, bad infrastructure, terrible roads, non-exitant footpaths, electric wires everywhere, etc etc is not the answer.  The answer is to harshly stamp down on those doing those things - send the next Thai who kills a tourist on the roads to jail for 30 years and repossess all his assets and farms and vehicles etc etc. That will stop it dead in its tracks - talking and wai-ing and speaking nicely and 10K Baht fines will not do it. The Thai Govt is cracking down now much more than in the past - but it is far too little far too late - everyone who has visited knows how bad Thailand is in regards to law, order, corruption and safety. They talk - others listen - decades of ignoring it all is finally kicking them in the butt - and they decide to ...... hide it. The Thais all went ape*** over Chinese Poilice being allowed in, and yet they do not see the irony in the fact that Thailand employs 'Tourist Police' - Why? To protect tourists !!  Protect them from what ??   It is right there in front of them - they just have to open their eyes and listen.

 

While those who come here to party and have fun, are not at all concerned by all that - those that have families, or are reserved, or are truly eco concerned, are worried about the things they have seen in the media for many years now. What they need to see is massive crackdowns on those Thais who break the laws in the tourist destinations - social media will bypass any Govt 'suppression'. 

 

Those of us that have been here a while know that tourism has not returned in Thailand anywhere near pre-Covid years - despite all the TAT lies and BS with the numbers they publish - especially the 3-4 million Malaysian tourists which are just people coming over the border for a few days.  If TAT was in UK or Europe they would be counting every illegal migrant arriving as a tourist spending 50K each and 'growing the economy'.  Very few countries are back to pre-covid numbers, but Thailand is way behind - the TAT numbers are lies, and if the Govt was serious they would immediately sack them and start it all again. 

 

Meanwhile there are about 150-200K Expats right here and in front of them, all spending an average of about 800K to 1 Million every year, year after year, and the Thai Govt is considering how to get income taxes from them.  They are driving out those that do spend money in Thailand, and they are not encouraging others from overseas to come. All their BS about high value retirees has been thrown out the window - they are now looking to hit them with income taxes.  

 

Thailand is Amazing - utterly unbelievably amazing. 

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has initiated a coordinated effort to combat fake news that negatively impacts potential visitors, particularly focusing on Chinese tourists, to protect the tourism industry.

Fake news or just the daily bad news?

[Barnet1900]

They really lead the way in hiding from the truth. The hub of bs.

 

Foreigners are treated as inferior beings by a country full of uneducated, xenophobic neanderthals. Then they defend their idiotic brethren when things go wrong.

 

One of the most naturally blessed countries on the planet yet full of continuous problems created by the natives. 

 

The news is factual for a change. You're given billions of cash every year because of the country you were blessed with yet can't control your greed, stupidity and ignorance.

 

Wake up and realise your total lack of respect towards others and your beautiful country of birth is the reason people have 'genuine' bad experiences here.

[DJ54]

IMO Most of the World news gets stretched then over exaggerated resulting in some truth some fake. I feel safe walking around in Thailand day or night more so than LA which I lived 20+ years.. 

[thesetat2013]

20 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

So that boat disaster that happened a few years ago killing all those Chinese tourists, and which resulted in the Thai authorities FINALLY trying to do something to regulate and control the dangerous cowboy boat businesses, will now be tagged as 'mis-information'?? 

 

Thailand is desperate - the economy is broken - they are desperately seeking more tourists.  But shutting down negative media stories about Thailand's endemic corruption, murders, road deaths, boat sinkings, accidental deaths, rapes, bike hire accidents and deaths, bad infrastructure, terrible roads, non-exitant footpaths, electric wires everywhere, etc etc is not the answer.  The answer is to harshly stamp down on those doing those things - send the next Thai who kills a tourist on the roads to jail for 30 years and repossess all his assets and farms and vehicles etc etc. That will stop it dead in its tracks - talking and wai-ing and speaking nicely and 10K Baht fines will not do it. The Thai Govt is cracking down now much more than in the past - but it is far too little far too late - everyone who has visited knows how bad Thailand is in regards to law, order, corruption and safety. They talk - others listen - decades of ignoring it all is finally kicking them in the butt - and they decide to ...... hide it. The Thais all went ape*** over Chinese Poilice being allowed in, and yet they do not see the irony in the fact that Thailand employs 'Tourist Police' - Why? To protect tourists !!  Protect them from what ??   It is right there in front of them - they just have to open their eyes and listen.

 

While those who come here to party and have fun, are not at all concerned by all that - those that have families, or are reserved, or are truly eco concerned, are worried about the things they have seen in the media for many years now. What they need to see is massive crackdowns on those Thais who break the laws in the tourist destinations - social media will bypass any Govt 'suppression'. 

 

Those of us that have been here a while know that tourism has not returned in Thailand anywhere near pre-Covid years - despite all the TAT lies and BS with the numbers they publish - especially the 3-4 million Malaysian tourists which are just people coming over the border for a few days.  If TAT was in UK or Europe they would be counting every illegal migrant arriving as a tourist spending 50K each and 'growing the economy'.  Very few countries are back to pre-covid numbers, but Thailand is way behind - the TAT numbers are lies, and if the Govt was serious they would immediately sack them and start it all again. 

 

Meanwhile there are about 150-200K Expats right here and in front of them, all spending an average of about 800K to 1 Million every year, year after year, and the Thai Govt is considering how to get income taxes from them.  They are driving out those that do spend money in Thailand, and they are not encouraging others from overseas to come. All their BS about high value retirees has been thrown out the window - they are now looking to hit them with income taxes.  

 

Thailand is Amazing - utterly unbelievably amazing. 

Just remember. Fake news is generally news that needs to be suppressed to make things look better than they are. Most fake news was not fake until someone saw it caused a detrimental effect on Thailand. They can write history as they want. Change what is taught to make Thailand look so good. But people remember the truth. 

[sammieuk1]

Fake news suppression from the fake PM 🤔

[Ben Zioner]

2PriceThailand is fake news, totally.

[mikebell]

23 hours ago, Stocky said:

Close down TAT, the ultimate purveyors of fake news

'the Assistant Chief of Police, the Police Commissioner, the head of the Immigration Bureau, and the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand,' - Four of the Best Purveyors. 

[fondue zoo]

15 hours ago, Barnet1900 said:

neanderthals

 

They were actually badass, so sorry to them

[BarraMarra]

The same old Rhetoric blame lack of tourist figures on outside influences instead of looking at the real reason for the decline. All you have to look at is the slow takeover in Phuket of Russians where most of the World is disgusted with what Russia has done to another country Thailand is welcoming them with visa incentives while ignoring the bread-and-butter western tourists.

Edited November 26, 2023 by BarraMarra

[carlf]

Perhaps it's also fake news that Thailand has some of the most polluted cities in the world as far as AQI is concerned, in particular when the fields get burned.  I think THAT is a real concern amongst potential tourists, and I virtually never read any news (fake or otherwise) about people being prosecuted for burning their fields.  And how about the two-price policy applied in so many tourist attractions in this country.  Is that also fake news?  Now there are two very real subjects the government could work on in order to improve the image of Thailand.

[madmitch]

Real news concerns shootings, car accidents, sinking boats etc.

 

The fake news comes from the Government and police who every time promise to implement measures to prevent these incidents from occurring!

[BayArea]

With the array of issues plaguing the country,  this fool is concerned about fake news and such on tourism.  But I thought tourism only accounts for 10% of the overall GNP?? It seems something is amiss with this figure. 

[vangrop]

On 11/25/2023 at 12:43 PM, TroubleandGrumpy said:

So that boat disaster that happened a few years ago killing all those Chinese tourists, and which resulted in the Thai authorities FINALLY trying to do something to regulate and control the dangerous cowboy boat businesses, will now be tagged as 'mis-information'?? 

 

Thailand is desperate - the economy is broken - they are desperately seeking more tourists.  But shutting down negative media stories about Thailand's endemic corruption, murders, road deaths, boat sinkings, accidental deaths, rapes, bike hire accidents and deaths, bad infrastructure, terrible roads, non-exitant footpaths, electric wires everywhere, etc etc is not the answer.  The answer is to harshly stamp down on those doing those things - send the next Thai who kills a tourist on the roads to jail for 30 years and repossess all his assets and farms and vehicles etc etc. That will stop it dead in its tracks - talking and wai-ing and speaking nicely and 10K Baht fines will not do it. The Thai Govt is cracking down now much more than in the past - but it is far too little far too late - everyone who has visited knows how bad Thailand is in regards to law, order, corruption and safety. They talk - others listen - decades of ignoring it all is finally kicking them in the butt - and they decide to ...... hide it. The Thais all went ape*** over Chinese Poilice being allowed in, and yet they do not see the irony in the fact that Thailand employs 'Tourist Police' - Why? To protect tourists !!  Protect them from what ??   It is right there in front of them - they just have to open their eyes and listen.

 

While those who come here to party and have fun, are not at all concerned by all that - those that have families, or are reserved, or are truly eco concerned, are worried about the things they have seen in the media for many years now. What they need to see is massive crackdowns on those Thais who break the laws in the tourist destinations - social media will bypass any Govt 'suppression'. 

 

Those of us that have been here a while know that tourism has not returned in Thailand anywhere near pre-Covid years - despite all the TAT lies and BS with the numbers they publish - especially the 3-4 million Malaysian tourists which are just people coming over the border for a few days.  If TAT was in UK or Europe they would be counting every illegal migrant arriving as a tourist spending 50K each and 'growing the economy'.  Very few countries are back to pre-covid numbers, but Thailand is way behind - the TAT numbers are lies, and if the Govt was serious they would immediately sack them and start it all again. 

 

Meanwhile there are about 150-200K Expats right here and in front of them, all spending an average of about 800K to 1 Million every year, year after year, and the Thai Govt is considering how to get income taxes from them.  They are driving out those that do spend money in Thailand, and they are not encouraging others from overseas to come. All their BS about high value retirees has been thrown out the window - they are now looking to hit them with income taxes.  

 

Thailand is Amazing - utterly unbelievably amazing. 

lamkaan boring zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[vangrop]

On 11/25/2023 at 12:43 PM, TroubleandGrumpy said:

So that boat disaster that happened a few years ago killing all those Chinese tourists, and which resulted in the Thai authorities FINALLY trying to do something to regulate and control the dangerous cowboy boat businesses, will now be tagged as 'mis-information'?? 

 

Thailand is desperate - the economy is broken - they are desperately seeking more tourists.  But shutting down negative media stories about Thailand's endemic corruption, murders, road deaths, boat sinkings, accidental deaths, rapes, bike hire accidents and deaths, bad infrastructure, terrible roads, non-exitant footpaths, electric wires everywhere, etc etc is not the answer.  The answer is to harshly stamp down on those doing those things - send the next Thai who kills a tourist on the roads to jail for 30 years and repossess all his assets and farms and vehicles etc etc. That will stop it dead in its tracks - talking and wai-ing and speaking nicely and 10K Baht fines will not do it. The Thai Govt is cracking down now much more than in the past - but it is far too little far too late - everyone who has visited knows how bad Thailand is in regards to law, order, corruption and safety. They talk - others listen - decades of ignoring it all is finally kicking them in the butt - and they decide to ...... hide it. The Thais all went ape*** over Chinese Poilice being allowed in, and yet they do not see the irony in the fact that Thailand employs 'Tourist Police' - Why? To protect tourists !!  Protect them from what ??   It is right there in front of them - they just have to open their eyes and listen.

 

While those who come here to party and have fun, are not at all concerned by all that - those that have families, or are reserved, or are truly eco concerned, are worried about the things they have seen in the media for many years now. What they need to see is massive crackdowns on those Thais who break the laws in the tourist destinations - social media will bypass any Govt 'suppression'. 

 

Those of us that have been here a while know that tourism has not returned in Thailand anywhere near pre-Covid years - despite all the TAT lies and BS with the numbers they publish - especially the 3-4 million Malaysian tourists which are just people coming over the border for a few days.  If TAT was in UK or Europe they would be counting every illegal migrant arriving as a tourist spending 50K each and 'growing the economy'.  Very few countries are back to pre-covid numbers, but Thailand is way behind - the TAT numbers are lies, and if the Govt was serious they would immediately sack them and start it all again. 

 

Meanwhile there are about 150-200K Expats right here and in front of them, all spending an average of about 800K to 1 Million every year, year after year, and the Thai Govt is considering how to get income taxes from them.  They are driving out those that do spend money in Thailand, and they are not encouraging others from overseas to come. All their BS about high value retirees has been thrown out the window - they are now looking to hit them with income taxes.  

 

Thailand is Amazing - utterly unbelievably amazing. 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz you have nothing else to do in your boring life?

[Gknrd]

Really the only way to stop it is do like China and don't let anyone post any negative comments. China does it now. Looks like Thailand will be next.  

Doubt if Thailand cares if any democratic countries complain at this point.  The will just start censoring all comments or banning web sites like Facebook, X, anything that someone can post a negative comment on.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Gknrd

[Gknrd]

16 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

The same old Rhetoric blame lack of tourist figures on outside influences instead of looking at the real reason for the decline. All you have to look at is the slow takeover in Phuket of Russians where most of the World is disgusted with what Russia has done to another country Thailand is welcoming them with visa incentives while ignoring the bread-and-butter western tourists.

Thai people that run the government don't want western tourists , or expats IMHO. Unless they bring in bags of money to hand over. Then they are considered suckers.  Thailand wants Chinese..  Thailand thinks the Chinese are going to be the rulers of SE Asia. Maybe they are right , at this point it is pretty much do or die.. 

At this point with the Chinese economy in the toilet I imagine the PM and others are starting to have second thoughts. But to late to turn it around IMO.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Gknrd

[Rampant Rabbit]

Better start with "Land of Smiles"  then

[Walker88]

Some tourist areas are booming. The 'Miracle Mile' (Sukhumvit from Siam Paragon to EmQuartier) is as busy as I've ever seen it. The two bookend malls are jammed, the 'entertainment' areas packed, and offshoots like Soi 11, Soi 8, Soi 4 & Soi 3 are overflowing. Lots of Arabs, lots of young couples, and lots of guys drawn to places like Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy make up the crowd. It seems only the Chinese, if anyone, are scared off by a single disturbed young man and 3 random victims.

 

Not sure about the rest of Thailand, but if that area is any indication, high season is going to be huge. Eating, shopping and nightlife---plus maybe medical tourism for the Arabs---seem to be the draws. That may not be what the govt wants, but given the overall state of the economy, they'll take it.

 

As for the Chinese economy, the rot that began with Evergrande is spreading, with a major money manager now hit with liabilities twice the size of its assets. The worldwide move to secure supply chains by sourcing closer to home (a lesson learned from Covid) is not going to help that economy. Thai authorities would be wise to direct attention at markets other than China.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

9 hours ago, vangrop said:

lamkaan boring zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

hope you enjoyed your snooze before you went out and about  

[TroubleandGrumpy]

9 hours ago, vangrop said:

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz you have nothing else to do in your boring life?

hope you you enjoyed your snooze

[saltybloo]

Gotta love all the foreigners moaning about it.  IMO Westerners have been coming here at a lesser rate ever since tourists of certain countries started visiting in their hordes. Anytime I don't like it, I know where I can get a paraffin budgie to wing me out. Instead of the constant whinging and whining, I suggest you do the same. 🤔 

[lordgrinz]

So 1984's and the Prayut Administrations "Ministry of Truth" is back? Meet the new Boss, same as the old one.

Edited November 27, 2023 by lordgrinz

[spidermike007]

If only this so called leader had any idea about how the real world works. He is likely in a position where he has dealt with alot of sycophants, and he appears to abhor truth, directness, reality, and honesty. Anything to cover up what is really happening.

 

It is not the current events, not the economy, not the difficulties people are dealing with around the world! It is fake news! 

 

One wonders if Thailand will ever have a good, noble, effective, fair, and righteous leader. They shot down Pita. Now, woe is Thailand. The backward movement continues. 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

22 minutes ago, saltybloo said:

Gotta love all the foreigners moaning about it.  IMO Westerners have been coming here at a lesser rate ever since tourists of certain countries started visiting in their hordes. Anytime I don't like it, I know where I can get a paraffin budgie to wing me out. Instead of the constant whinging and whining, I suggest you do the same. 🤔 

Gotta love the foreigners whinging about the whinging foreigners whinging about the whinging foreigners.

[Forrests Father]

On 11/25/2023 at 10:53 AM, webfact said:

Reports suggest that fake news, both from domestic and international sources, has been influencing tourists’ perceptions of safety in Thailand.

Can we get some details here? I haven’t seen any fake news about Thailand lately. Many actual news are so bad that you cannot make them up. 

[ChaiyaTH]

I think it is more true that it is under reported, then that there is fake news that is negative about Thailand. They really seem to be desperate now, what is next, they will blame this forum for a downturn in tourism?

 

The fake news is actually coming from them and TAT, who always count every arrival as a tourist.

Edited November 27, 2023 by ChaiyaTH