Thailand’s decision to grant visa-free entry to Chinese tourists has raised concerns about safety, following a high-profile incident involving a Chinese actor who went missing after being deceived, causing a stir on social media and drawing significant attention to the program.
According to reports from Reuters, earlier this month, mainland Chinese actor Wang Xing was invited to Thailand for filming, but later went missing near the Thai-Myanmar border, sparking widespread public concern. Luckily, he was eventually rescued. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra assured Chinese tourists that they need not worry about safety when visiting Thailand.
Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, with tourism being a crucial pillar of its economy. In 2019, before the tourism industry was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand saw a record high of 39.9 million international visitors.
Chinese tourists constitute the largest source market for tourism in Thailand. In order to revive the tourism industry, the Thai government waived visa requirements for Chinese tourists in 2023. Since then, the total number of foreign visitors has increased by 26% annually, reaching 35.5 million, with around 6.73 million coming from China, a 91% year-on-year growth.
Thai Senator Wanchai Ekpornpichit expressed concerns that the significant increase in Chinese tourists may lead to more illegal activities, particularly in border towns adjacent to Laos and Myanmar, where criminal groups operate scam centers and online gambling businesses targeting Chinese tourists.
“The visa-free policy has led to an increase in transnational crime, partly because Chinese criminals use Thailand as a base,” Ekpornpichit said in parliament on Monday, January 20. “We are becoming a center of criminal activity…this affects national security and the tourism industry.”
Thai Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong stated on Tuesday, January 21 to the media that there are currently no plans to review the visa-free policy.
Some Thai tourism groups have proposed reducing the visa-free stay period for Chinese tourists from 60 days to 15 days.
“Chinese tourists usually stay around 7 to 8 days, so this (shortening the stay period) will not impact tourism,” Secretary-General of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, Adith Chairattananon, told Reuters.
Chairattananon stated that he has discussed this proposal with the Director-General of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and believes that it may help decrease criminal activities.
In an interview with Thai media, Wang Xing revealed that he was deceived into going to Thailand for performance work, but upon arrival, his head was shaved and he was forced to practice typing. He was detained along with 50 other Chinese individuals, suspecting that they were being forced into telecommunications fraud activities.
Last year, Thailand assisted in rescuing around 900 Chinese citizens from a scam center in Myanmar’s Myawaddy, enabling them to return to China.