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Thailand Determined to Straighten up Chinese Tourist Market
Thailand is determined to carry out new regulations that are designed to ensure the operation of Chinese group tour to Thailand be conducted in an appropriate manner, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Pradech Phayakvichien told Xinhua Monday.
"Thailand has high hopes for the new regulations," Pradech said, referring to the implementation plan on joint regulation of tourist market signed by the two countries' tourism authorities in Kunming, China in August.
Thailand is going to cooperate with China in visa-issuing to control tour program, Pradech said.
The TAT will provide the designated Chinese travel agencies with "information card" containing information on the rights and protection of tourists, necessary names and contact information of relevant travel agencies for lodging complaints, according to the regulation.
The card is to be used for applying for visa by attaching with tourists' passports and filled up with names and license numbers of travel agencies arranging land operation in Thailand. Tourists will also be informed with the tour arrangement beforehand.
"If tourists found the whole program did not follow the set procedure, they can complain to relevant agencies. And if a tour operator was found misconducted, it will be blacklisted or being removed from the list of the designated travel agencies," Pradech said.
As for the 18-U.S.-dollar minimum tour price per day for Chinese tourists in Thailand, the governor said it is designed to maintain the standard of tour operation and services, with the minimum land arrangement cost being adjusted in correspondence with the conditions and cost factors in Thailand.
When asked whether the minimum tour price will affect the tourist arrivals from China, Pradech said though the competition among major Southeast Asian tourist destinations are "fierce," Thailand will not trade off its national image and resources for immediate gains.
"We are doing this because we want to attract more Chinese tourists in the future," said the governor
The TAT will set up some information counters on October 1 at Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok to help Chinese tourists, according to an informed source from TAT.
China is the third largest tourism market for Thailand, after Japan and Malaysia.
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