Thailand seeks to soothe Chinese visitors’ scam centre fears

Thai tour operators say booking cancellations from Chinese visitors surged following news of an actor who was rescued from a scam centre

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A view of Myanmar’s Myawaddy town seen from Mae Sot district in Thailand. A number of foreigners fled an online scam centre in Myanmar across the border to Thailand last year. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:20pm, 15 Jan 2025Updated: 3:30pm, 15 Jan 2025

Thailand is scrambling to soothe safety fears among potential visitors from China ahead of the peak Lunar New Year travel period after human trafficking cases involving Chinese victims who were held in Myanmar to run scams prompted a flurry of tour group cancellations from the kingdom’s biggest tourism market.

Tour guides also blamed safety fears for a drop in demand from independent travellers ahead of the holiday season, which begins on January 29.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong superstar singer Eason Chan was one of two celebrities who had cancelled concerts in Thailand that were scheduled to be held during the holiday week, citing safety fears for visitors.

The safety issue came into the spotlight after Chinese TV actor Wang Xing – better known as Xingxing – was rescued last week from ‘Scam City’ in Myawaddy in Myanmar. The area is notorious for syndicates running multi-billion dollar scams involving mainly Chinese gangs under the protection of Myanmar’s government and its affiliates.

“Since the news of the Chinese actor, we’ve been getting cancellations mainly from four- and five-star hotels,” said Morrakot Kuldilok, president of the Thai Hotels Association eastern chapter, which includes Thailand’s popular resort city of Pattaya.

“If no action is taken swiftly, we’re concerned it’s going to spread, and the impact will deepen across the year.”