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Thai Government to Step up Security for Tourists
Chiangrai Times – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior are joining hands in stepping up security measures to assure safety for foreign tourists in Thailand.
A meeting was held with Senior Officials from the Interior, Tourism and Sports ministries as well as the governors of 10 provinces popular among overseas visitors.
Tourist Police patrols will be reinforced in areas most frequented by tourists.These provinces were Chiang Mai, Phuket, Chon Buri, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Krabi, Chiang Rai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Rayong and Trat.
The meeting was aimed at addressing safety concerns of foreign tourists.
The Foreign Ministry reported that at least 15 complaints were lodged recently at Thai embassies regarding the safety of foreign tourists in Thailand. One of them concerned tourists being threatened and forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money to repair non-existent damage to rented jet skis on Thai beaches.
said the meeting discussed several measures to better protect foreign tourists.
They agreed to set up more closed circuit television cameras in the 10 provincial capitals.
Tourist Police patrols will be reinforced in areas most frequented by tourists such as beaches and city centers. The meeting also agreed that in the future, representatives from hospitals which are popular among Middle East visitors would be invited to a discussion following complaints from tourists that their medical charges are too high. The meeting will try to make medical service here available justifiable prices.
He said the meeting agreed to set up more tourist information centers in the provinces and ensure each one had staff members who, combined, can speak foreign languages such as English, French and German.
These matters will be presented to the Prime Minister for consideration.
