Thailand warns against price-cutting tour sales tactics.

Halloween festival on Khaosan Road in Bangkok, Thailand - Photo: AFP

The Tourism Authority under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand has warned about numerous travel companies violating laws regarding the use of agents, employing predatory pricing strategies, and employing new fraudulent tactics to offer cheap tours disguised as direct selling or multi-level marketing companies.

Jaturon Phakdeewanit, head of the Tourism Authority, said that the more than 100 suspected illegal travel companies may be a relatively small number compared to the total of 13,000 licensed companies nationwide. However, the operations of these companies could cause significant damage to Thailand's tourism industry, as a large portion of their revenue flows overseas instead of benefiting local businesses.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has so far revoked the licenses of 10 travel companies for violating regulations on the use of agents, while 30 companies under suspicion have been investigated.

Mr. Jaturon stated that most of the violating businesses were large companies that illegally hired foreign tour guides. Some businesses had not registered for tourism licenses, or were not operating through representatives, but rather as multi-level marketing and direct sales companies in Thailand.

Mr. Jaturon gave an example: companies would offer cheap membership fees to Chinese tourists with a free four-day trip to Thailand. During the trip, these companies would take tourists (now nominally their members) to visit designated shopping locations within their network, forcing tourists to only purchase products or souvenirs at those places.

Mr. Jaturon argued that these actions are similar to selling illegal tour packages without a travel permit. Illegal companies also profit through commissions from tourist destinations.

According to Adith Chairattananon, honorary secretary-general of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, the emergence of illegal tours has affected licensed domestic travel companies because these cheap packages have caused them to lose significant market share.

Adith argues that this issue also affects the Thai government 's tourism revenue target of 3 trillion baht (nearly 83 billion USD), due to low package prices and the fact that a large portion of the financial flow will go to overseas networks.

Therefore, he recommended that the government take legal action against illegal businesses, allowing the local economy to reap the greatest benefits from the visa-free program for 93 countries, which will begin in mid-July.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thai-lan-canh-bao-chieu-ban-tour-pha-gia-20240714111601914.htm