Chinese tour companies in Phuket being checked

Officers have made random checks on tour companies in Phuket today after receiving complaints.

Tourist Police, soldiers and officers from the Tourism Business and Guide Southern Division 2 have descended on 10 tour companies in the Wichit and Phuket Town areas, based in the Phuket Villa 3 housing estate, Panason housing estate, Phuket Villa Dawroong housing estate and Soi Poonphon.

Chief of the Tourism Business and Guide Southern Division 2 Athiphong Sangsin says, “We have randomly checked tour companies to make sure that they are operating their business legally.”

“We checked some Chinese tour companies which remain the main tourism feeder market for Phuket. We have received many reports and complaints about tour companies, especially illegal Chinese tour guides. ‘Zero baht tours’ have been decreasing after we have continued to take action agains them.”

(A zero baht tour company is one that has very low upfront costs for Chinese travellers to get to and stay in Phuket, usually at or below the actual cost. But when they arrive in Phuket they are dragged around many, many compliant shops – jewelry, clothes, markets and tours – who pay the operators up to 50% commission on top of their already over-the-top prices. The tourists also stay in Chinese-owned hotels and eat at Chinese-owned restaurants so the local Thais make little or no money from the tours.)

“There are 20,000 tour companies in Phuket that are legally operating their businesses.”