The new Thai government is being urged to cooperate with Beijing before enacting a visa-free scheme for Chinese visitors.
A recent Chinese movie about scammer networks and a persistent perception of Thailand as a transit hub for human trafficking is affecting tourism sentiment.
The Chinese thriller No More Bets depicts people being deceived to work with a scammer network in Southeast Asia. The film grossed US$505 million during its first five weeks and reached the top of China's box office in August.
Surawat Akaraworamat, vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said the film soured Chinese sentiment about travel to Southeast Asia, which has been weak since March because of an incident where Chinese visitors to Thailand were abducted and taken to a neighbouring country.
Concerns grew over the past few months as many online content creators in China picked up this topic and stirred rumours about unsafe travel in Thailand.
Mr Surawat said a visa-free policy without other measures might not stimulate the market as other countries are preparing to offer similar perks to lure Chinese travellers. South Korea announced plans this week to waive visa fees for Chinese travellers.
He said while tour agents in China are upbeat about Thailand's proposed visa policy, the main reason they cited stopping Chinese tourists from booking travel to Thailand was unease about safety.
Mr Surawat said a visa-free scheme might not have the maximum benefit if a negative perception about Thailand remains in China.
He said this is a delicate issue the Thai government cannot handle by itself, requiring help from its Chinese counterpart to convince its citizens.
"Though most call centre or scammer networks are rooted in neighbouring countries, people are concerned about travelling to Thailand because they believe fraudulent networks are using Thailand as a transit hub to abduct or lure people for these scammers," said Mr Surawat.
He said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin should consider making an official visit to China as soon as possible to strengthen friendly economic ties and investment partnerships, as well as use the opportunity to convince the Chinese government about Thailand's safety.
The Royal Thai Police has been cracking down on scammer networks over the past few months, but those efforts will be in vain if these results are not communicated to travellers, said Mr Surawat, meaning the government cannot really fix this issue.
Chuwit Sirivejkul, regional director of marketing for East Asia at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the main reason for slower growth in the Chinese market is likely reduced confidence in traveller safety rather than the visa application process, which has been gradually improving.
He said the Thai government should issue a statement to assure tourists regarding safety, aiming to regain their confidence.
Mr Chuwit said many countries are now opting for a different visa policy to lure Chinese travellers. South Korea, which has already exempted visas for student groups, will offer a visa fee waiver for tourist groups this year to improve sluggish growth among the Chinese market, he said.
With 2.2 million Chinese travelling to Thailand as of Sept 3, the country has only four months left to attract an additional 2.8 million tourists in order to reach its target of 5 million for 2023.
