WHILE the visa-free measure is helping promote tourism Pattaya’s business association head urged the government to more stringently screen tourists, TV Channel 7 said today (Feb. 25).
Mr. Boon-anan Pattanasin, president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, said although the visa-free measure has made it much easier for tourists to come to Thailand it could have negative impact such as letting those who are travelling here illegally or are from countries where visa is required but theirs has expired plus those who do not clearly state their accommodation slip in.
He added that the association had discussed with Tourist and Immigration police and while they agreed that the visa-free measure is beneficial to tourism they wanted more stringent screening measures for incoming tourists.
They particularly cited the cancellation of the requirement to fill out their address in Thailand on the TM.6 form because if some tourists stay at illegal places or cause trouble it becomes more difficult to track them down.
Currently Russians remain the biggest group of tourists in Pattaya with as much as 90% of hotel bookings followed by Indians and Chinese holidaymakers.
The number of Chinese tourists had dwindled after the news about call-centre gangs spread.
Due to this the government and relevant agencies were urged to strictly inspect tourists in order to maintain Thailand’s tourism image as safe and reliable in the long term.
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