New Tourism business bill aims to boost competitiveness of Thai tour companies



BANGKOK: -- The cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a new tourism business and tour guides bill which is aimed to promote local tourism business and to improve the qualifications of tour guides to boost their competitiveness.

One of the highlights of the bill is that tour operators will not be allowed to bring into the country cheap package tour groups in a way that they do not receive any fees or the fees are so unrealistically low that they hardly cover the expenses of stay here by the tourists, explained Maj-Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd, deputy spokesman of the government.

The ban against cheap package tour groups is intended to prevent the so-called “zero coin” tour groups. Local tour operators normally receive barely any profits for receiving these groups from their Chinese counterpart and the way they usually do to make some profits is to bring the tourists to jewelry shops in exchange for commissions from the shops.

Another highlight of the bill is that tour operators will be held accountable and to compensate the tourists in case the operators break the agreement with the tourists.

The cabinet also approved in principle to promote film shooting in Thailand by foreign production houses.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/new-tourism-business-bill-aims-to-boost-competitiveness-of-thai-tour-companies

-- Thai PBS 2015-08-12

It's just a small step from quality tourists to "zero coin" tour groups. Yesterday we took a Dutch friend to Wat Phra Kaew. The hordes of Chinese there were sheer horror. Unabe to shoot decent pictures there.

So the hordes of Chinese aren't so welcome after all, has anyone told TAT ?

So the hordes of Chinese aren't so welcome after all, has anyone told TAT ?

The only ones truly welcome here are Uncle Buck, Dollar Bill, Euro Sam and Curren See.

One of the highlights of the bill is that tour operators will not be allowed to bring into the country cheap package tour groups in a way that they do not receive any fees or the fees are so unrealistically low that they hardly cover the expenses of stay here by the tourists, explained Maj-Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd, deputy spokesman of the government.

Or to put it another way... Cheap Charlies no longer wanted, only quality tourists hemorrhaging money.

How about the Chinese tour leaders in Thailand? Why not clamp down on these illegal workers?

Will be very difficult to enforce for sure. But zero coin tours don't sound like lots of fun for the Chinese tourists. Imagine what you thought was going to be a holiday turning into a series of high pressure visits to kick back businesses.

Just make the Chinese pay a daily fee, collected in their jail.. errrr bus or deport them.

Or is the new bill to make sure the Thai tour company actually makes taxable coin in Thailand so the government can tax them. Wake up TV readers most of you are as blind as a Thai peasant to the way of wording an article to slant the truth. The problem is tour companies declare no income by putting part payments in accounts overseas.

how can this be? Chinese tourists spend more than any other tourist demographic.

i know, TAT told us so

"Forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" ....

First they want these hords of chinese and TAT declare that these quality tourists spend 6,000B per day (per person I think it was) and now ... they call them "Zero coin" Tour Groups - shame on you Chinese tourists, you not spend enough Money in this overpriced country ...

So does this new rule mean that all Tour Group are safe from being taken to a scam gemshop or tailor against the tourists will .... ?

This place is getting more and more crazy by the day ...

these are pretty words to say:

we are going to get rid of all the legal & illegal farang tourist operaters, so better business for thai one's, even incapable one's ?

Pure propaganda nothing else !

A waste of time even reading this nonsense0

So the hordes of Chinese aren't so welcome after all, has anyone told TAT ?

The only ones truly welcome here are Uncle Buck, Dollar Bill, Euro Sam and Curren See.

euro is more lucky , tickets to euro more expensive,

and Eu is more clever to prevent Chinese agents with 1 coin packages !!

Cleverness from Thais are requested !!