BANGKOK: Chinese tourists visiting Thailand for Chinese New Year are worried about being kidnapped by gangsters to work in hellish scam centres, despite efforts to reassure them.
Chinese tourists dipping lotus bulbs in a water bowl, at the Grand Palace in Bangkok on Sep 10, 2023.
Thai aviation chiefs say they expect arrivals from China over the Jan 24 to Feb 2 period to be down on 2024, despite higher traveller numbers overall."I didn't dare to tell my family, so I came here secretly," Gao, a 29-year-old tourist from Hainan province who gave only one name, told AFP at Wat Pho, the Thai capital's Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
Tourism generated more than US$50 billion in 2024, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, equivalent to around 10 per cent of GDP. Kasikorn Bank said in a research note Friday that Chinese visitor numbers could be down by as much as 17.5 per cent during this year's holiday period compared with 2024."The bad situation isn't caused by Thai people, but sparked concerns among Chinese tourists visiting the country," she said on social media platform X.
Fluent in Mandarin, Buri has spent decades guiding Chinese visitors around Bangkok's historic sights but said the mood had changed lately.
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