Thai tourism takes a hit amid Chinese actor's human trafficking woes

Some Chinese tourists have cancelled their travel plans to Thailand, citing safety concerns, following the human trafficking incident involving Chinese actor Wang Xing in the southeast Asian country.

Multiple tourism platforms have reported that, despite a surge in travel bookings for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, the Thai tourism market has suffered a setback. An increasing number of people have expressed concern about traveling to Thailand on Chinese social media, and public opinion over the past week has had a significant impact on that country's tourism.

A major travel agency insider, surnamed Guan (pseudonym), told The Paper that her agency has seen about 30 percent cancellations of bookings to Thailand in the past week.

Official data shows that more than 35 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand in 2024, with Chinese visitors accounting for the largest number, reaching 6.7 million.

According to the Bangkok Post daily, citing the Association of Thai Travel Agents, Chinese tourist numbers might fall by 10 to 20 percent during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays. This was mainly due to safety concerns among travelers, following the recent incident where Chinese actor Wang Xing fell victim to a human trafficking gang using Thailand as a gateway.

Wu Zhiwu, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, met with Thailand's Senior Inspector General, Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, on Sunday. Thatchai briefed Wu on recent efforts by Thai police in the case involving the missing Chinese national and reaffirmed Thailand's commitment to further strengthening the prevention of and crackdown on transnational crimes.

The Chinese Embassy released a statement on Sunday, speaking positively about Thailand's determination and efforts in ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals.

However, tourists who have already booked their trips face some fee losses if they cancel, as recent public opinion events related to Thailand do not constitute force majeure. Many tourists are unwilling to risk their safety and have to pay a high price to cancel their flights.

Writing on the topic on social media, a netizen commented on January 13 that they had just cancelled their tickets in the morning, losing 1,500 yuan (US$205) on the flight, 50 yuan on currency exchange, and 100 yuan on a SIM card, totaling a loss of 1,650 yuan even before leaving home.

Another netizen said they had booked a Thai tour group a month in advance and, with more than 30 days to go before departure, faced a 5 percent cancellation fee. They have instead "redirected" their trip to Sanya on south China's island province of Hainan.

However, some netizens groused that they have a large family and the cancellation fee was too expensive, so they had decided to go ahead with the trip despite their concerns.

An unnamed airline responded to National Business Daily on Tuesday, saying that since no special policies have been introduced, tourists may be considering factors such as cancellation fees or are adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

In fact, from the airline's data, there has not been a large-scale wave of ticket cancellations yet. However, with the Lunar New Year approaching, flight prices are rising, but there are signs of weak price growth for China-Thailand flights as tourists turn to other destinations.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand released a statement on Friday saying that Thailand attaches great importance to the safety of tourists and will make its best efforts to provide Chinese visitors with a quality travel experience. The TAT will work closely with relevant authorities, including government agencies and private companies, in a joint effort to facilitate the safety and protection of all tourists traveling to Thailand.

Under immense public pressure, Thai authorities have significantly intensified their security efforts, particularly in strengthening safety measures for Chinese tourists. This will, to a certain extent, boost the confidence of Chinese visitors, an tourism industry researcher told The Paper.