November 13, 2023
BANGKOK – 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.