Bangkok (TAN): Security personnel last week arrested as many as 126 taxi drivers, tuktuk drivers and vendors in the Thailand capital for scamming tourists, media reports said.
The operation took place around the Grand Palace, which is among Bangkok’s most popular tourist destinations.
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Army personnel, tourist police and government officials carried out the joint operation around Grand Palace, Lt Gen Thirapol Kupatanon said, The Nation reported.
Among those arrested included taxi drivers who rejected passengers or refused to use their meters. Street vendors who overcharged tourists were also arrested.
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Twenty-eight tuktuk drivers were also warned not to take advantage of tourists.
Despite being among the world’s most-loved travel destinations, Thailand is notorious for tourist scammers. Just do a “Scams in Thailand” or “Scams in Bangkok” search on Google and see what interesting results come up.
Overcharging by tuktuks is common and unless you know how much a legitimate Point A to B fare is by tuktuk, there are high chances of being ripped off. Also, street vendors, like many other popular destinations, tend to charge more for foreign tourists.
Tourism is a big revenue generator for Thailand and this is among the latest measures taken by the Thailand administration to attract tourists.
Earlier in January, the government had announced an extension of the visa-on-arrival fee waiver from January 31 to April 30, 2019. The Tourism Authority of Thailand said the extension would be applicable for citizens of 20 countries.
Under the waiver, citizens from all these 20 countries will be granted stay in Thailand for up to 15 days without having to pay THB2,000 visa-on-arrival fee.
These countries are:
- Andora
- Bulgaria
- Bhutan
- China, including Taiwan
- Cyprus
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- India
- Kazakhstan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Papua New Guinea
- Romania
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Ukraine
- Uzbekistan
