Thai travel safety concerns continue
Australian and British officials have recently voiced their concern over the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities concerning tourists in Thailand, after a series of deaths in December and January. During the current peak travel season in Australia, it is expected that over 25,000 Australians will venture to Phuket, joining thousands of Britons seeking some winter sun. As a result, Australian Ambassador James Wise has teamed up with British Ambassador Mark Kent to join in with a campaign run by the Thai Ministry of Tourism to tackle the growing problem of tourist scams on the island idyll.
Australian and British officials have recently voiced their concern over the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities concerning tourists in Thailand, after a series of deaths in December and January. During the current peak travel season in Australia, it is expected that over 25,000 Australians will venture to Phuket, joining thousands of Britons seeking some winter sun. As a result, Australian Ambassador James Wise has teamed up with British Ambassador Mark Kent to join in with a campaign run by the Thai Ministry of Tourism to tackle the growing problem of tourist scams on the island idyll.
Australia’s honorary consul in Phuket said that scams involving the hire of motorbikes and jet skis, combined with intoxicated travellers at festivals such as the Full Moon Parties, had become so prevalent that it had prompted some expatriate islanders to leave. British Ambassador Kent said: “Most visitors have a good time free of trouble, but unfortunately there are some who have problems. We encourage British visitors to read the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) travel advice and ensure that they have adequate travel and health insurance before travelling.” He also advised travellers to read the small print of any policy they are considering buying to check that activities they have planned, such as renting a scooter, are covered by the policy. Following the shooting of a British tourist on New Year’s Eve in a club in Koh Phangan, the FCO has also updated its travel advice for Thailand, noting that seven British nationals have been murdered in the country since 2009, and singled out Koh Phangan as a place of particular concern. In Pattaya, two Russian tourists were abducted, robbed and raped on Christmas Day, while British media reported that a couple on holiday on Ao Nang, a popular beach resort, had been the victims of an attack by a group of Thai men on motorbikes that resulted in the male tourist being stabbed several times while protecting his girlfriend. Another Briton, Patrick Molloy, died in December after a local gang in Pattaya chased him and his group of friends out of a nightclub and onto a beach into the sea. Molloy could not swim, and could not reach the safety of an inflatable dinghy before he perished in the sea.
Officials in Thailand are aware of the issues that tourists are facing in the country, according to Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul. He told The Nation, a Bangkok-based news source, that the safety and security of travellers was high on the agenda at a recent cabinet meeting, but also called on ordinary Thais to do what they can to help: “Please take care of foreigners,” he asked. “If anything happens to them, please step in to help.”