Thailand's Zero-sum Tourism

[kreon]

Thailand will step up efforts to prevent Chinese tourists from being cheated by so-called "zero-dollar tours", the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced.

That's the good news.

The bad news is, this statement was made in August, 2000.

So when Thai authorities recently stated that they would "discuss the problem and draft measures to address the problem", a strain of skepticism was inevitable.

"Zero-dollar" tours derive their name from package tours sold mainly in China, and to a much lesser degree in Korea, which include free air fare and low-cost accommodation. But once the incredulous (and gullible) tourists set foot in the Kingdom, the scam begins.

The groups are herded from one expensive jewelry shop to another, from pricey entertainment joints to expensive restaurants. Not being able to speak Thai, and virtually imprisoned within the group, they are ripped blind.

Unscrupulous tour operators (both Thai and Chinese) and their selected outlets in Thailand reap handsome rewards - one estimate puts the loss to the legitimate tour industry at as much as US$400 million a year. Officials claim that about 90% of Thailand's inbound operators specializing in Chinese tourists are of the "zero-dollar" kind.

In 2004, 624,214 Chinese visited Thailand, down 5% from 2003, but the number plunged 28% in the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Much of this can be attributed to the falloff following the December 26 tsunami last year that ravaged some tourist areas of Thailand's southern Andaman Sea coast, but also to growing complaints from Chinese authorities over the rip-offs. Beijing, Xian and Chengdu are the main source of Chinese tourists travelling to Thailand.

Now the Tourism and Sports Ministry (established subsequent to the TAT's 2000 declaration to clean up the industry) and the TAT have announced the establishment of a Chinese Tourist Protection Association, of which at least 25 of about 80 low-cost tour operators that specialize in Chinese tourists will be members.

Somsak Thepsuthin, Tourism and Sports minister, said that the association would establish a center to serve Chinese tourists while they are in the kingdom. The center will be open around the clock to handle complaints, with Mandarin-speaking staff in attendance. Members of the new association will be required to pay a 2 million baht (US$50,000) deposit to the center. This money will be used to settle claims by disgruntled tourists.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry has also held meetings with related agencies, including the TAT, major Chinese and Thai travel agents, the Immigration Department and the Tourist Police, to discuss the problem and draft measures to address it.

A TAT official explained, "Since most Chinese tourists are first-time travelers and are unaware of the actual cost of the packages, we will offer them tours with prices attached which will be authorized by the TAT."

At the same time, the ministry will also focus on drawing more high-end Chinese tourists, as well as increasing two-way tourism traffic between the two countries to mark the 30th anniversary of Thailand-China diplomatic relations.

Adisai Bodharamik, former tourism minister, commented, "Thailand is fully supporting concrete measures to solve the problem of Chinese tourists getting unfair tour programs."

Returning from a visit to China at which tourist officials from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore were also present, Adisai said, "That [scam] is why the top tourism officials of the four countries met in China." He noted that the sides agreed in a memorandum of understanding that they would use strict measures to punish tour operators who conducted "zero-dollar tours" or other illegal activities to Chinese tourists.

If found guilty, tour operator in any one of the four countries would immediately be taken off the list of certified trading partners in the other three countries, Adisai said.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will officially visit China next month and the measures to win back the confidence of Chinese tourists are expected to be high on his agenda.

Jurupol Ruangket, president of the Professional Tourist Guides of Thailand association, which represents more than 4,000 guides across the country, said, however, that the measures would not solve the problem because of weak law enforcement. "The government has been trying to end this issue for a long time with different strategies, but the same problem always comes along due to the government's poor implementation," Jarupol said.

Indeed, remember the 2000 TAT declaration of the war against shady practices that came to nothing?

For 2004, there were 8.29 million tourist arrivals in Thailand, up 19.5% from the year before. But for 2005, the figure is expected to be below this, and certainly well below the targeted 13.3 million, mainly as a result of the tsunami. Tourism accounts for 6% of Thailand's gross domestic product. The drop in arrivals could cost the country as much 30 billion baht in revenue.