BANGKOK: Thailand sought to dampen safety concerns among potential Chinese tourists on Friday as fears mounted over reported kidnappings on the Thai-Myanmar border.
Scam compounds have mushroomed in Myanmar’s borderlands and are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, swindling their compatriots in an industry analysts say is worth billions of dollars.
Concerns were raised after reports that Chinese actor Wang Xing was allegedly trafficked into a cyber-fraud centre in Myanmar’s Myawaddy town, just across the Thai border in early January.
Myanmar authorities handed him over to Thai police days later, Thai local media said. Another Chinese, Yang Zeqi, a model, went missing last month and was found this week, swirling fears on Chinese social media with netizens saying Thailand was a “dangerous” place.
A senior Thai police officer Pittayakorn Petcharat told AFP he had reports that Yang “returned to China from Myanmar” on Thursday, but gave no further details.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Friday said the government would enhance safety standards to combat transnational crime citing reports of illegal organ trafficking, call centre scams and zero-dollar tours.
“Though such incidents were not caused by Thai people, they have raised safety concerns among Chinese tourists,” she said in a post on X, adding that she welcomed all Chinese tourists to celebrate Lunar New Year in Thailand.
Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch on Friday called the scam centres – which have spread from Cambodia to Laos and the Myanmar border areas – “one of the most pressing regional crises the region is facing”.
The Thai government has promised to boost confidence by strengthening safety measures, it said in a statement Friday.
“Every sector will ramp up its security and services to facilitate tourism (in Thailand),” it said.
According to Thai media, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is looking to recruit Chinese influencers to improve the kingdom’s image to Chinese social media users and would-be visitors.
China remained at the top of Thailand’s tourist numbers list in the first two weeks of January, comprising almost a sixth of the 1.3 million arrivals.
The Thai government anticipates a further seven percent rise in Chinese tourists during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday period, which is expected to add 8.8 billion baht ($255 million) to the kingdom’s income.
