China, Thailand ink MoU to develop quality tourism

China and Thailand has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to build a joint tourism supervision mechanism to develop quality tourism.

The MoU was signed by Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports and China Nation Tourism Administration, after a meeting on cracking down illegal tour operation and ensuring safety of tourists of the two countries.

Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said the core of the MoU is to set up mutual mechanisms to regulate the operation of tour agencies in both countries, and to cope with emergencies in tourism, adding that the safety of tourists has been highlighted by both sides.

She also noted that Thailand and China will work together on training qualified Chinese and Thai speaking tour guides to meet the demand of the huge jump in tourists.

The MoU was signed in the wake of Thailand's crackdowns on the country's biggest zero-dollar tour operation network in late August and early September. Tourist police busted five Bangkok companies alleged to operate illegal, poor-quality package tours and related businesses catering mostly to Chinese tourists.

Tourists who join the zero-dollar tour or kickback tour are usually lured to buy cheap tour packages in their own countries, only to find their expenses become greater once they arrived in Thailand.

They are pressured to buy overpriced product in shops under zero-dollar networks who attempt to extract unreasonable sums and profits.

According to statistics from the ministry, Thailand received about 7.9 million Chinese tourists last year. The number has reached 7 million during the first eight months of this year. Endit