Fears of scam centre kidnappings keep Chinese tourists on edge in Thailand

BANGKOK - Chinese tourists visiting Thailand for Chinese New Year are worried about being kidnapped by gangsters to work in hellish scam centres, despite efforts to reassure them.

Chinese nationals topped the list of visitors to Thailand in 2024, with nearly seven million making the trip to Thailand in 2024.

But high-profile kidnappings on the Thai-Myanmar border have sent a chill through the market in a peak period, with a reported 10,000 trips cancelled during the Chinese New Year holidays.

Thai aviation chiefs say they expect arrivals from China over the Jan 24 to Feb 2 period to be down on 2024, despite higher traveller numbers overall.

Even those who have braved the trip are uneasy.

“I didn’t dare to tell my family, so I came here secretly,” 29-year-old tourist Gao from Hainan province, who gave only one name, told AFP in Wat Pho, the Thai capital’s Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

Fears were heightened after

Chinese actor Wang Xing was rescued from a cyber fraud centre

in Myanmar earlier in January.

Mr Wang said he was lured to Thailand on the promise of an audition, only to be whisked off and smuggled across the border.

The fact that kidnappings appear to be carried out by Chinese speakers is making tourists wary.

“When we are here, we try not to talk too much to people who speak Chinese,” Mr Hu Yangfan, a 25-year-old tourist from Zhejiang in eastern China, told AFP near the Grand Palace, one of Bangkok’s most famous landmarks.

Chinese cancellations

China is a hugely important market for Thailand as it seeks to rebuild its crucial tourism sector after the devastating impact of travel shutdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tourism generated more than US$50 billion (S$67 billion) in 2024, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, equivalent to around 10 per cent of gross domestic product.

Of that, travel over the Chinese New Year period accounted for more than US$1 billion as Chinese visitors sought shopping bargains and cultural experiences.

However, following kidnapping reports, public broadcaster ThaiPBS said around 10,000 Chinese tourists had cancelled flights, citing Airports of Thailand, which runs the kingdom’s main international terminals.

Kasikorn Bank said in a research note on Jan 24 that Chinese visitor numbers could be down by as much as 17.5 per cent during the 2025 holiday period compared with in 2024.

The government is deeply concerned and took the highly unusual step last week of publishing an

artificial intelligence-generated video of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra

insisting – in Mandarin, a language she does not speak – that the kingdom was safe for Chinese tourists.

“The bad situation isn’t caused by Thai people, but sparked concerns among Chinese tourists visiting the country,” she said on social media platform X.

A junior Chinese security minister visited Thailand to press the government to do more to crack down on the gangs running scam compounds.

And Ms Paetongtarn said she would use talks with Beijing next week to try to allay fears.

Tour guide fears

Those on the front line of the Thai tourism industry are feeling the effects.

Back in the Grand Palace, tour guide Buri Chin eyed the thinning crowd of Chinese tourists with unease.

Fluent in Mandarin, Mr Buri has spent decades guiding Chinese visitors around Bangkok’s historic sights, but said the mood had changed lately.

“When I ask if they need a Chinese-speaking guide, many seem scared. They don’t even want to talk to strangers,” he told AFP.

He said he was bracing himself for a tough season.

“The number of Chinese tourists will definitely be lower this year,” Mr Buri said.

“Many Chinese-speaking guides I know are heading back to their home towns instead of working during the holidays,” he added.

Not all visitors are worried.

A 65-year-old man from Shanghai, who gave his name only as Mr Li, dismissed safety concerns.

“Tourism is their lifeline. If Thailand was truly dangerous, its reputation would collapse,” Mr Li told AFP.

“We walk around in the evening and it’s very safe.” AFP