Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has demanded fast action to improve tourist safety, saying the country would have "no future" if more incidents such as the Koh Tao murders occur.
A Tourist Police officer distributes pamphlets to visitors at the main pier on Koh Tao in Surat Thani on Friday. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
The coup leader and army chief also used his Friday evening television address to deliver a stern warning to brawling students in the wake of a recent clash that left two people dead.
The murders of two young British travellers, as well as the student brawl, had damaged the reputation of the country. "Such incidents shouldn't happen again," he said.
Confidence among foreign tourists is at a low ebb following the killings on Monday on Koh Tao in the southern province of Surat Thani.
The Thai educational system is also facing harsh scrutiny after two Pathumwan Institute of Technology students were shot dead by six students from Rajamangala University of Technology's Uthen Thawai campus last week.
Gen Prayut called for a joint effort by the government and private agencies to ensure safety for tourists, warning of grave consequences if travellers no longer feel Thailand is a safe destination.
"If this continues, we'll be wasting our annual budget and efforts. We'll have no future," he said.
Foreign tourist arrivals for the first eight months of this year were down 10.7% from the same period a year ago. The industry had expected tourism to start picking up in June and July as stability returned following the May 22 coup.
Police are still searching for suspects in the killings of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23. Residents of Koh Tao have raised 50,000 baht to be offered as a reward for clues in the case.
The prime minister himself made a bad situation worse this week when he made an offensive remark about bikini-wearing tourists on Wednesday. He used the programme on Friday to repeat his apology.
"I'm sorry if my words had caused anguish for many," he said. "I especially would like to convey my deepest personal condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones."
Turning to the country's unruly students, he said they could face harsh legal action if they get into any more brawls. Thailand has been notorious for decades for clashes, some of them fatal, between rival gangs of vocational school students.
"You're wasting your own opportunities and tarnishing our international reputation. Today we are taking full legal action," he said.
On the economic front, the prime minister said confidence appeared to be returning. In the first eight months of this year, he said, applications for investment privileges had been made for 886 projects worth 416.5 billion baht.
Of the total number, 52% were first-time projects, indicating investor confidence in the country, he said.
As for the planned property and inheritance taxes, Gen Prayut said they were being vetted by the National Legislative Assembly.
Several governments over the past few decades have proposed property and/or inheritance taxes but without success as both are considered highly unpopular politically.
The Finance Ministry said earlier that the proposed property tax rates would be 0.50% of appraised prices for farmland and land for residential purposes, 1% for commercial land and 2% for vacant plots.
Land and houses worth not more than 1 million baht or plots smaller than 100 square wah might be exempted.
The proposed inheritance tax — at progressive rates of 10% and 20% — would be imposed on an estate worth 50 million baht or more.
The prospect of a tax on farmland has caused considerable concern, but Gen Prayut assured low-income earners that they would not be affected.
"Don't be afraid. You won't have to sell your land to pay the taxes; it's not like that," he said.
"There are people who are trying to create misunderstanding. Let's wait and see what needs to be revised."
Gen Prayut also used the programme to deliver an apology to red-shirt activist Kritsuda Khunasen, one of the fiercest critics of the military, but it came with a warning.
"As a gentleman, I'm sorry that I have used strong words against you at times," he said. "I have expressed myself strongly because you have accused the armed forces of many issues over the years. And those accusations are untrue.
"I have to ask Ms Kritsuda to please stop blaming officials and making false accusations."
Ms Kritsuda accused soldiers of torturing her during detention earlier this year. She fled the country after her release and is now believed to be in Europe.
Police recently added weapons charges to the list of allegations Ms Kritsuda faces, in the hope that they will be able to get her extradited back to Thailand.
Police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang on Friday claimed there was evidence that Ms Kritsuda, 26, supplied weapons to the "men in black" who fought with security forces during the political unrest in 2010.