BANGKOK – Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister and Finance Minister, emphasized the plan to establish the “Phuket Model” to manage tourism and social security. He had spoken with 12 consular mission heads focused on preventing and addressing foreigners’ law violations.
Srettha invited the heads of consular missions from 12 countries and police officers from all units to a conference on April 21 to discuss how to prevent Phuket from becoming the land of safety tourism.
“Phuket was the first province I visited after taking office as Prime Minister. From that day until today, I think Phuket has made progress in many ways. However, more can be done. We must not just focus on business profits. Tourism has improved the economy in the last seven months, people have more money and there is prosperity. However, this prosperity will not last without stability,” said Srettha.
He also emphasized that the government’s top priority is to protect the lives and property of all people on Phuket, including locals and tourists. Violations by foreign nationals are an obvious problem. He said the government will be fair and try to solve this problem.
In addition, improvements have been made to facilitate various amenities and create a Phuket Model for tourism and security. If the Phuket Model proves successful in Phuket, it will be extended to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.
He also said that law enforcement must be strict and said that everyone must prevent accidents on the roads and waterways, including natural disasters. Business owners must have a license, and foreigners are prohibited from driving without a license. In addition, the prime minister urged that drug use and conflicts must be banned in Patong and Bangla.
Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panpetch, deputy police chief and acting national police chief, said the National Police Office will set up a database to inform foreigners of prohibited activities in accordance with the law, liaise with all relevant units to control and suppress foreign mafia infiltrating Phuket province, and enforce the law on foreign rental car operators to promote tourism in Phuket province.
The PM also gave an interview on Tuesday about the case of a group of Chinese investors who entered the Thai tourism market to drive down prices. When he learned about this, a thorough investigation was conducted, including cases of foreigners involved in unfair deals.
Speaking to the Honorary Consul at the Phuket office on Sunday, he emphasized the importance of abiding by the law and cooperating with the Immigration Department and the Tourist Police to expedite inspections of travel companies that break the law and prosecute them accordingly.
“In fact, there are many travel companies that abide by the law, so we do not want to cloud the overall picture. Tourists traveling here need to eat, stay and use services and there are many hotels owned by Thais. Even if only 1-2 percent are breaking the law, we have to be vigilant to make sure everything is legal,” he said.
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