Some Chinese tourists cautious on Thailand travel after Wang Xing’s incident while some others call for tangible steps to ease safety worries

Chinese actor Wang Xing human trafficking incident in Thailand has dampened the enthusiasm of some Chinese tourists for travel to Thailand, with a few even canceling scheduled trips to the country at a high cost. While it is understandable that some travelers now hesitate to travel to Thailand, some frequent visitors to the country hoped that Thai authorities will make tangible steps to crack down on traffickers, helping tourists to ease their worries.

Wu Zhiwu, Deputy Chief of Mission at Chinese Embassy in Thailand, met with Thailand's Senior Inspector General, Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, on Sunday. Thatchai briefed Wu on the recent efforts by Thai police in case involving missing Chinese national and reaffirmed Thailand's commitment to further strengthening the prevention and crackdown on transnational crimes. Wu spoke positively of Thailand's determination and efforts in ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals, according to a release of the Chinese Embassy on Sunday. 

Both sides conducted in-depth discussions on enhancing cooperation to jointly combat transnational crimes, including telecom fraud and human trafficking, read the release.

Chinese tourist numbers might fall by 10 to 20 percent during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays due to safety concerns among travelers, after Wang Xing the Chinese actor recently fell victim to a human trafficking gang using Thailand as a gateway, according to the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), Thai media outlet the Bangkok Post reported.

The owner of a travel agency in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, surnamed Cao, told the Global Times that more than 50 percent of her clients had canceled their bookings to Thailand after Chinese actor Wang Xing went missing near the Thai-Myanmar border.

A woman surnamed Fu told the reporter from the Global Times that she had planned to take her parents on a trip to Bangkok and Phuket during the Spring Festival holidays, but her parents became reluctant to travel to Thailand after they heard about Wang Xing's incident. Fu had already booked flights and hotels for the whole trip, but now she could only cancel the trip and swallow the loss of 10,000 yuan ($1,364).

Another netizen, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times that she had planned to visit Chiang Mai, but since the city is quite close to Myanmar and with safety concerns, she also canceled her planned trip, preferring to visit after Thailand becomes safer.

Some online travel agencies said they have also been affected by the alleged recent trafficking case, with the owner of an agency running Thai diving projects told the Global Times that about five percent of customers had temporarily canceled their orders. However, other agencies that customize travel itineraries for tourists said that order sales had experienced very limited impacts.

Travel agencies providing travel services to Thailand noted that regular group tours are safe as long as visitors avoid going to the border area or stay out late at night.

Wu Yuan, a frequent traveler to Thailand, told the Global Times that her previous experiences visiting Thailand are unforgettable, adding that she hopes that Thai authorities will make tangible steps to crack down on traffickers, helping tourists to ease their worries.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) released a statement on Friday saying that Thailand attaches great importance to the safety of tourists and will make its best efforts to provide Chinese tourists with a quality travel experience. The TAT will work closely with relevant authorities, including government agencies and private companies, in a joint effort to facilitate and protect the safety of all tourists traveling to Thailand, according to the statement.

The priority for traveling is safety, it is understandable that some travelers are now holding a wait-and-see attitude toward travel to Thailand, Gu Xiaosong, dean of the ASEAN Research Institute of Hainan Tropical Ocean University, told the Global Times on Sunday.