In an article from TTRWeekly, China complains over tourist safety, it looks like the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand is missing the big picture.

Apparently, Chinese tourists are complaining about safety, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports is not reading between the lines and is going to lose out on some big Chinese bucks.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Chinese Dragon

More travelers from China is resulting in more deaths and accidents in Thailand but is the Tourism Authority of Thailand doing anything at all about it?

A boom in individual travellers from China has a downside according to the National Tourism Administration of the People’s Republic of China, which claims there has been an increase in accidents involving Chinese visitors.

This is a direct result in the way the “new” Chinese tourist is traveling.  There is a marked increase in Chinese travelers traveling solo instead of the herd mentality all packed into a bus.  You have seen them.  All with their cute little name tags and walking around like a herd of goats.

China’s tourism administration vice chairmen, Zhu Shanzhong, said that around 25% of all visitors from China are individual travellers who book and organise their own trips and they are more vulnerable to accidents.

Today’s younger, and hipper, Chinese tourist is striking out alone or with a friend or two.  Not as many group tours coming to Thailand.

“ Due to the increase in travel there are more Chinese injured or die in Thailand, while on holiday and there is evidence that assistance was not delivered fast enough,” Mr Zhu claimed.

I am not sure how many are getting injured or die or what the proof is that assistance is not delivered fast enough.  This was not provided in the article.

Safety while travelling in Thailand is an issue for all nationalities and most of the deaths and injuries are linked to poor road safety.

This is an issue for local Thais too as there are way too many road deaths especially during holidays.

Four recommendations were made by Chinese officials during the visit to the Ministry of Tourism. They were:

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this.

• Raise efficiency and scope of tourist insurance to ensure Chinese visitors can be confident that they are covered during their trips to Thailand;

I don’t think this one belongs to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports or the Tourism Authority of Thailand.  It is up to the individual to get the insurance.  About the only thing that the MOTS and TAT can do is provide a list of hospitals and/or doctors that will accept the insurance in Thailand.

• Establish a unit which can fast track assistance for tourists particularly in a crisis situation;

This is almost an impossibility unless you only key on the major tourist areas like Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.  And, even then, it would be extremely difficult to establish multiple units in large cities.

• Set a tourism fund to pay compensation for visitors injured, while on holiday and for the families that suffer the loss of a relative during a trip to Thailand in addition to the tour company insurance that has a ceiling of Bt500,000 for an injury and Bt1 million in the case of loss of life;

I wonder if China has a similar in-country paid for insurance plan for tourists that come to China.  Again, this should be on the individual to get their own insurance.

• Speed up promotions to encourage Thais to travel to China to balance inbound travel through a two-way tourism policy.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t give a damn how many tourists go to China.  They don’t even care how many tourists come from foreign countries, including China, and only focus on promoting Thailand to Thais.

So, here is the big plan from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand:

Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports permanent secretary, Sombat Kuruphan, said he would hold meetings with officials from Foreign Affairs, Transport, Public Health, Interior and the Tourist Police Division to discuss the Chinese recommendations.

Yep.  They will have some meetings which is Thai euphemism for doing nothing.

But, here is the problem.  The Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand is not seeing the BIG PICTURE here.  Chinese tourists are changing their habits and Thailand is doing NOTHING to accommodate.

Previously, Chinese tourists would travel in big groups, fly on a Chinese carrier, be picked up in a bus and taken to a Chinese-run hotel, eat in Chinese owned restaurants, and go on group tours to visit places that the tour company wanted them to see (kickbacks).

Now, the Chinese tourist is traveling solo. He or she is able to search online and find places to go that are maybe off the beaten path and they don’t like traveling like a bunch of sardines.

The problem for these tourists goes beyond insurance.  The biggest problem is language.  If the Chinese tourists don’t read, speak, or write English or Thai, they will have a hard time getting around the country since most folks only speak Thai and the signage is only in Thai and English.

If the Ministry of Tourism and Sports could tear himself away from the planning of building 1,820 sports stadiums in Thailand, he could divert some of that energy and the humungous Tourism budget to making signs at the major tourist areas in Chinese.  Maybe even help hotels prepare signs in Chinese and have someone make restaurant menus in Chinese.

What the Tourism Authority of Thailand needs to do is make Thailand Chinese-friendly to attract the millions of tourists that have lots of money to spend.  Videos on Youtube, a Facebook page in Chinese, TAT workers that can read, write, and speak Chinese, Chinese speaking help desk personnel at the TAT Contact Center, Thailand tourism web sites in Chinese, and on and on.

But, a big rock would have to fall on the heads of the Minister of Tourism and Sports and the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand before any of this happens.

Why?  Because the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand cannot see the writing on the wall and will do nothing to properly promote Thailand to China.

Tags: accidents china chinese insurance ministry of tourism and sprots mots TAT tourism authority of thailand