The latest report on Bangkok being named the 30th most dangerous city in the world for tourists should be a wake-up call for policymakers to put more effort and resources into improving the safety and conditions in the capital -- instead of just running promotional campaigns and events.
The survey, conducted by Forbes' Advisor List, was based on data curated from 12 leading travel insurance companies and just came out this week.
It looked into 60 international cities based on seven risk criteria: travel safety, crime risk, personal security risk, health security risk, infrastructure security risk, natural disaster risk, and digital security risk.
The riskiest city on the list was Caracas, Venezuela, with a score of 100, followed by Karachi in Pakistan (93.12) and Yangon in Myanmar (91.67). Singapore was named the safest destination in the world, with a score of zero risk, followed by Tokyo (10.72), Toronto (13.6), Sydney (22.28) and Zurich (22.97).
Bangkok was rated 30th with a perceived risk of 53.34. In Southeast Asia, the city emerged as the second safest after Singapore, followed by Kuala Lumpur (55.36), Ho Chi Minh City (61.83), and Jakarta (81.98).
Granular details show Bangkok is still battling worrisome levels of crime and health risks, scoring 39 on both metrics. Infrastructure risk, such as the quality of public buildings or public spaces like pavements, scored 22; the city's digital security risk was measured at 17, and personal security risk was relatively low at five.
The results are somewhat dismaying. Lest we forget, the city has ranked among the top 10 destinations in many surveys. This latest survey raises a fundamental question about Thai hospitality. Do our officials provide enough protection to foreign visitors? Or do we only care about their tourist bucks?
Noteworthy is the lack of a meaningful response from the government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), which is responsible for public infrastructure and environmental quality.
The lukewarm response only suggests complacency or a lack of ambition to make this city safer and healthier for visitors and residents alike.
That being said, the mediocre rating hardly comes as a surprise.
Bangkok, like other tourist towns in the country, has drawn bad press recently as a result of serious crimes involving foreign nationals, such as Chinese visitors being kidnapped.
The national and local government have not prescribed any special measures to ramp up safety. Criminal cases are treated as routine tasks to be handled by the police.
Perhaps the BMA and the central government should look at Pattaya City in Chon Buri. Three months ago, it launched a "Pattaya Safety" application to help users in emergencies and with other safety concerns.
In terms of the environment, Bangkok is not a sustainable city nor a particularly safe place to walk in certain neighbourhoods and times of day. The air quality has also become poorer. The safety record of much public transport infrastructure is also a concern.
Current and previous administrations have dreamed of making Bangkok a world-class destination that people not only want to visit but also settle down in. Given the risk of crime, pollution and mediocre public infrastructure, however, it will remain just an affordable tourist destination, and eventually, the city will lose its appeal.