Recently, the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) released the Thailand Tourism Industry Confidence Index Report for the second quarter of 2024, and revealed the results of a survey on the tourism and consumption behavior of tourists from China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) and Singapore.
According to the survey results, "food" is an important factor in attracting Chinese and Singaporean tourists to visit Thailand, accounting for 78%. This was followed by safety (55%), appropriate travel expenses (48%), good service (45%), diverse travel locations (32%), and convenient shopping (20%).
Meanwhile, the most popular Thai destinations for Chinese and Singaporean tourists are Bangkok (100%), Chiang Mai (20%), Phuket (18%), Chonburi/Pattaya (16%), Koh Phangan (14%), Krabi (12%), Ayutthaya (10%), Chiang Rai (6%), Cha Am (6%), Hua Hin (6%), Satun/Koh Lipe (5%), Rayong (3%).
The top 10 favorite things or activities for Chinese and Singaporean tourists visiting Thailand are as follows:
- Eating Thai food and fruits: 84% (Tom Yum Goong, fried noodles, various Thai fruits)
- Massage & Spa: 73%
- Shopping: 55%
- Nightlife, e.g. going to entertainment venues and shows: 55%
- Beach activities, water sports: 30%
- Chao Phraya River Cruise: 21%
- Visit the floating market: 16%
- Visiting zoos and amusement parks: 16%
- Ecotourism, farm stays (animal breeding, elephant bathing): 13%
- Looking for investment opportunities: 3%
The "60-day visa-free stay measure for Chinese tourists" is not far away.
Chinese and Thai tourists go back and forth in both directions, opening a new era of tourism exploration.
Mysterious Thailand will become a charming Thailand in the future.
Today, Thailand.com will list the "rumor version" of "Precautions for Chinese Tourists Going to Thailand", hoping that everyone will try to forward and refute the rumors and jointly save the magic Siam that has been rumored to be "distorted and deformed".
01
Chinese tourist arrested for "not wearing underwear"?
I don't know where this strange rule came from, but it probably means that Chinese tourists are advised not to have a fluke mentality: they must wear underwear when they come to Thailand, and tourists who do not wear underwear will be arrested or fined by the Thai police who have trained their "sharp eyes".
The headline of that group of bloggers reads:
"Top 10 Wonderful Laws in the World! 20 trivia you didn't know about Thailand! 》
Did You Know? When traveling in Thailand, it is illegal to go out without underwear! 》
"It's true, there have been Chinese tourists who have been recruited, I advise everyone not to defy the law!" 》
"Chinese tourists are too naïve to dare not wear underwear? The Thai police have 20 years of professional clairvoyance, and you can tell at a glance whether you are wearing it or not! 》
Chinese tourists don't wear underwear, even if they intimidate "jail time", some bloggers added:
Hurry up and put on your underwear, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with!
In fact, this is an "old rumor" that recurs every once in a while.
To be precise, as long as Thailand's tourism industry improves slightly, "Chinese tourists will be arrested if they don't wear underwear".
Last time rumors: 2019, before the pandemic.
What's the matter, what is the violation of the law for Chinese tourists to wear underwear or not? If this was illegal, I would have been sentenced to "life imprisonment" long ago.
An even more fierce scene: In 2019, when no one in the Thai police knew about this strange regulation, we Chinese netizens actually answered this question seriously...
Obviously, this provision is pure nonsense - the process of the police checking "whether they are wearing or not" has already constituted the crime of sexual assault and indecency, and how can the whole of Thailand use one kind of illegality to defend another strange thing?
So the root source of this rumor is:
Article 388 of the Penal Code of the Kingdom of Thailand stipulates: "Any person who improperly exposes his body in a public place, or commits other indecent acts, shall be fined not more than 500 baht (about 100 yuan)." ”
The concept of being stolen is "tourists expose their bodies" = "may not be wearing underwear", so under the insulation of Thai, a bunch of Chinese netizens who are good at speaking Chinese "pass ten, ten pass hundred", scaring many Chinese tourists to go to the toilet to change their underwear after entering the country.
But these personal habits, it is clear that "the king of heaven and Lao Tzu" cannot interfere.
After the visa exemption in 2024, I hope it will not be passed on again, from 2010 to 2023, don't talk nonsense again!
02
The more "tips" Chinese tourists, the better?
Let's start with the answer: what a P!
This is another common rumor.
Isn't the money of Chinese tourists money? You have money, you spoiled Thai merchants, can you be responsible?
Thailand's "tipping" is purely voluntary, if any business does not leave because the "tip" given by Chinese tourists is not enough, then please call the 1155 tourist police hotline directly to report to the police.
It is also possible to contact the Thai network directly, as long as the police finally confirm that it is true, we will give away a free "big exposure news".
By the way, if there is a tour guide who shouts to tip the merchant more, this rule must also follow the principle of voluntary.
The correct merchant practice is: put a "tip jar" at the cash register, and when the customer looks for money, he has coins and change, and if he wants, he puts them in himself.
03
Death penalty for selling counterfeit goods and drugs in Thailand?
This rumor is generally spread by the "Paradise on Earth" Thai blowing faction to maliciously glorify Thailand.
However, the misleading effect can cause Chinese tourists to let their guard down and lose a lot of money.
Who said there are no fakes in Thailand? Who said that selling counterfeit drugs is a death penalty?
Therefore, Chinese tourists need to keep their eyes peeled and avoid buying cheap Thai products in informal "pheasant" shops.
04
Thailand does not have "unburned rubies"?
A brief summary of the background point: rubies are the staple commodity in the Thai jewelry market, which is divided into two broad classifications: "burned" and "unburned", that is, whether the gemstone is heat-treated or colored determines its natural value.
A Chinese tourist once spent millions on a "burned" ruby worth a few hundred yuan. At the same time, too many Thai jewelry merchants are "shy in their pockets" and have no ability to spend money on the goods, so they often sell them as shoddy and beautiful rubies of several hundred yuan as rare treasures.
Thailand.com suggests: (1) shopping in regular shops, keeping the charging receipts, taking photos on the spot (the goods and documents are taken together), conditional recording, (2) issuing an international ruby identification card, precious metal identification card, (3) 1155 Thailand Tourist Police will accept rights protection.
05
Is it difficult for Chinese tourists to defend their rights?
It used to be difficult, but now it's not.
After the visa waiver, it is easier.
After Chinese tourists enter the country "silkily and smoothly", they can find unscrupulous merchants at any time to defend their rights.
It is roughly divided into three links:
First, Chinese tourists can directly find the business, communicate verbally to protect their rights, if they can't talk, then don't talk about it, just tell the merchant to let him wait;
Second, download the Chinese version of the tourist police app: POLICE I LERT U is a software specially developed and designed by the Thai National Police to urgently seek help from the police in case of danger while traveling in Thailand - send personal information, photos, incident time and scene location to the application War Room, War Room has police officers 24 hours a day to pay attention to the dynamics, and coordinate the dispatch of police to help tourists and provide relevant services immediately.
The software supports multiple languages including Chinese. In addition, visitors can also contact the Tourist Police through the hotline 1155, which is available 24 hours a day and has an interpreter if they have questions.
Third, at the same time as the tourist police deal with it, Chinese tourists can also contact Thailand.com on WeChat, and we will open a column of "Thai Pit People Merchants" to regularly expose to all Chinese tourists who are the "pit people", which street, number, routine, and punishment, and remind Chinese tourists to stay away in the near future.
Our aim is that if the merchants who bully Chinese tourists are so hopeful that they will "lose their money", then we will give them a ride.
If you are brave enough to challenge the unscrupulous merchants of Thailand's network, you are welcome to "try it and die".
06
Chinese tourists can't enter the temple to ask for Buddha statues?
Chinese tourists should pay attention not to become the object of "people are stupid and have a lot of money" in this field.
Many tour guides in Thailand like to play the game of "eating kickbacks" with Thai temples, and usually do not let Chinese tourists enter the temple, claiming that the temple monks like to be quiet, and then the bad tour guide takes out the 20 baht a piece of Buddhist plaque from the temple, and sells it for 2,000 yuan a piece, or higher.
Let's think about it, Thai people with an average salary of 12,000 baht and less than 3,000 yuan can spend 10,000 baht (2,000 yuan) to ask for a license?! Don't be stupid, the knot items in Thai temples are all 20 baht, 50 baht, 100 baht and other normal prices.
The Thai Internet celebrity uncle in the picture below, with a neck of cards, is full of dozens of baht and hundreds of baht "hobby accumulation", these things were originally irrelevant to money, but they were rectified out of the "consumption rank" by foreigners.
As long as there is no lack of morality Chinese WeChat brand dealers involved in speculation, Thailand no Buddha card is expensive, everyone has time to go to the Loang Po Rui Na temple to feel, this temple is no problem, the master is also good.
Bu Zhou just went last week, but as soon as he entered the door, hundreds of Chinese micro-businesses sat in one piece, turning the temple into a "live broadcast training base". Making money for a living is understandable, but the nature of "cheating money" has changed - there are also people who take selfie sticks and claim that a certain brand can cure hemorrhoids and become the "richest man" in one night.
In order to sell a profiteering brand, they can make up any story if they don't know a word of Thai. A group of micro-businessmen who lack morality, everyone posted on Moments that they are the only big disciples of Thai monks.
Big disciple?! At best, it is not even an assistant of an eight-level agent of a micro-business.
Of course, of course, there are expensive good Buddha cards and good Chinese micro-businesses, and I can't kill them all with one rod, on the contrary, I admire the conscientious merchants who insist on deep cultivation in this industry.
But now, we need to clear the "money-making chaos" of this special industry and protect the rights and interests of more Chinese tourists.
As for why Bu Zhou is so angry today, the picture below is the reason.
07
Polygamy in Thailand? Legalizing pornography?
There is indeed a lot of news in Thailand to support this view, however, Thai law stipulates that registered marriages can only be "monogamous".
Regarding the legalization of pornography, Thailand promulgated laws in 1960, 1996 and 1997 stipulating that any sex trade is illegal, and all obscene places and obscene activities are prohibited throughout Thailand, including the distribution of pornographic films and pornographic pictures through the Internet.
Thailand.com hereby reminds Chinese tourists: you need to clean yourself, don't let yourself go as soon as you come to Thailand, mess up unclear relationships, and don't have any illusion that "Thai women don't marry non-Chinese men".
For the sake of your reputation, and for your own health, please don't mess around.
08
Other nonsensical "cliché" rumors
Bu Zhou didn't want to say much about this part, because the creators of these rumors have relatively low intelligence, one is illogical, and the other is unfounded. Such as:
"Thai transgender man forcibly grabs child to accompany transgender"
"Thai people have a few wives in front of their homes"
"There's nothing in Thailand, just a bunch of transsexuals riding elephants and fighting"
"Fart 'death sentence' in a Thai taxi"
"Foreigners can become naturalized in Thailand and apply for an ID card by paying money"
"Thai transsexuals are forced to transgender and have an ultra-short lifespan"
"Thais wipe their buttocks with their left hand and eat with their right hand, and they can only grab it with their hands" (this guy is confused with India)
"Thai lizards will be gangbanged" (this guy is confused with India)
"Taj Mahal on Bangkok Brilliant Road" (this guy is confused with India again)
"Eating Thai street food will make your legs weak" (this guy is still confused with India)
"Tourists are required to wear helmets under the coconut trees, and there are monkeys who throw coconuts to kill people" (where did the monkeys come from?). What are you throwing coconuts for... ）
"Mobile phones in tourists' luggage cannot be vibrated and will be mistaken for illegal adult products"
"You will be beaten if you wear black clothes in Thailand" (is beaten, no matter what color you wear)
09
Bu Zhou writes an ending
Visa-free, at present, it is very good, except for the occasional "overlord meal controversy", there is no disorder and uncivilization in the attractions in Thailand.
The Sino-Thai tourism industry has come and gone, and those messy rumors have been self-defeating.
If the Chinese see too much, they will know that Thailand is not like this.
After playing for a long time, Thai people will also understand that China is more extensive and profound than they imagined.
When the two countries meet, the distance disappears, the suspicion disappears, the rumors disappear, and the excessive praise disappears.
On the network of China and Thailand, the strategy has multiplied, the experience has multiplied, the sharing has multiplied, and the beauty has multiplied.
The projection of future history can only be true and impartial.
Chinese tourists around Siam can not only play the mainstream routes "full of flowers", but also comprehensively explore and open up in unpopular innovative tourism, unlocking all the charms that should bloom for this long-standing mysterious country——
Let the moving fireworks in those landscapes spiral upward, in the colorful night of the bright moon, become the fragrant breath of the Sino-Thai toast carnival: from here to the other side, from the dragon and elephant to the cup resounding all over the world.
Chinese tourists will come into contact with Lao Taihua to tell them how strong, brave and wise China is now, and then ease their nostalgia and let them go home often.
Thai people are also looking forward to it, writing down their heartfelt itinerary to China.
Everything stems from the fact that China and Thailand have known each other since ancient times, and in the reunion of the family, they have long belonged, which has achieved today's two-way running.
"Visa-free stay for 60 days" is about to be promulgated, the dragon and the elephant, the most perfect finale.