Chinese police to patrol in Thailand to boost tourist confidence
In a bid to boost the confidence of Chinese tourists, Thai authorities have decided to let Chinese police officers participate in patrols in several tourist cities in the kingdom.
Thapanee Kiatphaibool, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), announced this move on Sunday after attending a meeting with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The primary focus of the meeting was addressing security concerns and ensuring the quality of services provided to tourists during their stay in Thailand.
Thapanee said to achieve these objectives, TAT and the Tourism and Sports Ministry need to collaborate with the chiefs of the Central Investigation Bureau and Tourist Police.
On November 15, discussions on deploying Chinese police for patrols in major Thai tourist cities will be held with the Chinese embassy. This policy aims to emulate a successful model employed in Italy, though the cities where the model will be used are yet to be disclosed.
It is anticipated that this initiative will contribute to the goal of hosting up to 4.4 million Chinese tourists in the final two months of this year.
“It is necessary to have Chinese police in Thailand because it will help us show Chinese tourists that Thailand is enhancing its security measures. Also, the travellers’ confidence will be boosted if their police officers can confirm that Thailand is safe,” Thapanee said.
Chinese arrivals have slowed down after a 14-year-old went on a shooting spree in a Bangkok mall recently and killed one Chinese tourist and injured another.
In a separate discussion before departing for the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in San Franciso, the premier addressed several issues, including stickers highway police place on trucks after taking bribes and efforts to combat the smuggling of pork.
Srettha voiced frustration and questioned law-enforcement officials about the progress in resolving the pork smuggling problem. He also highlighted directives that have been issued to address the problem and asked why there has been an apparent lack of progress.
He also addressed the scandal that emerged last week after concrete sheets covering a hole in a Bangkok road caved in under the weight of an overloaded truck. The truck apparently carried a special sticker showing a bribe had been paid, which allowed it to be waved through checkpoints without being weighed.
