New push to reassure Chinese tourists
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New push to reassure Chinese tourists

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Chinese tourists wear Thai school uniforms in Bangkok. (File photo)
Chinese tourists wear Thai school uniforms in Bangkok. (File photo)

The government plans an intensified tourism campaign while also stepping up security measures to restore flagging Chinese confidence in Thailand after a Chinese actor was lured to a lawless area of Myanmar after arriving in the kingdom.

Government spokesman Jirayu Huangsub said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra ordered the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to launch campaigns to boost tourist confidence yesterday.

The premier also instructed the police chief to ensure enough tourist police are on duty and that close monitoring is conducted in at-risk areas to address the operations of influential gangs, Mr Jirayu said.

"The prime minister said that although the Chinese actor who went missing in Myanmar had been found, this incident affected Chinese tourists' confidence," the spokesman said.

The spokesman was referring to Chinese actor Wang Xing, aka Xingxing, who went missing for several days after flying into Bangkok and travelling to the Thai-Myanmar border.

Actor Wang Xing signals he is okay as he rides in a car with police officers returning him from Myanmar to Tak province in Thailand on Tuesday. (Police Photo)

Actor Wang Xing signals he is okay as he rides in a car with police officers returning him from Myanmar to Tak province in Thailand on Tuesday. (Police Photo)

The prime minister also ordered the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to tackle fake news reports and cooperate closely with Chinese authorities to restore the confidence of Chinese tourists, he said.

On Sunday, police inspector-general Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelabut met with representatives from the Chinese embassy in Bangkok. They discussed setting up a centre for Thai and Chinese police to coordinate searches for people lured to neighbouring countries and exchanged information on transnational crime, including call scams.

Authorities would also make serious efforts to tackle illegal border crossings.

Muk Sulaiman, secretary to the House speaker, said representatives from other countries, including Kenya, had informed the speaker that scam gangs had kidnapped their citizens during visits to Thailand.

This all comes after 31-year-old Chinese actor Wang went missing after arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan province from Shanghai on Jan 3.

He was last seen in Tak's Mae Sot district near the border, where all contact with him was lost.

Wang was located in Myanmar on Jan 5 and returned to Thai soil the next day before returning to China on Saturday.

Two other Chinese nationals were also recently reported as missing in similar situations as Wang, but they have not yet been found.

According to a source, such cases have made many Chinese people lose trust in Thailand, leading to a decline in Chinese tour groups this Lunar New Year by 20-30%.

Hong Kong singer Eason Chan also announced the sudden cancellation of his concert at Impact Arena on Feb 22 because of safety concerns for his Chinese fans.

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