The government plans an intensified tourism campaign and stepped up security to restore flagging Chinese confidence in Thailand after a Chinese actor was lured to a lawless area of Myanmar after flying to Thailand.
Government spokesman Jirayu Huangsub said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Monday ordered the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to launch campaigns to restore tourist confidence.
She also instructed the police chief to ensure enough tourist police are on duty to ensure the safety of tourists. Police must patrol risk areas and suppress the operations of influential gangs, Jirayu said.
“The prime minister said that although the Chinese actor who went missing in Myanmar had been found, this incident affected Chinese tourists’ confidence,” the spokesman said.
The prime minister also ordered the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to tackle fake news reports and cooperate closely with Chinese authorities to restore the confidence of Chinese tourists, he said.
On Sunday police inspector-general Police General Thatchai Pitaneelabut met representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok.
They discussed setting up a center for Thai and Chinese police to coordinate searches for people lured to neighboring countries and exchange information on transnational crime including call scams.
Authorities would also make serious efforts to tackle illegal border crossings.
Muk Sulaiman, secretary to the House speaker, said representatives from other countries, including Kenya, had informed the speaker that their citizens had been kidnapped by scam gangs during visits to Thailand.
He urged the government to take action to solve the problem.
This story first appeared in The Bangkok Post.
