Thai tour operators have voiced concerns over new rules proposed to set a minimum price for tours in the country.
The amendment to the Tourism Business and Guide Registration Act would set a minimum price for all tours to combat the notorious ‘zero dollar’ tours.
Zero dollar tours are mostly marketed to Chinese visitors and are often priced below cost where tourists are pressured to spend money in certain shops which pay guides big commissions.
Some tour guides have used heavy handed sales tactics including threats of violence to ‘persuade’ tourists to spend more.
Setting a minimum tariff for tours is impractical and would be difficult to enforce, said Charoen Wangananont, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA).
Charoen said no other country in the world has set a mandatory minimum cost for group tours.
"Pricing is a sensitive issue and ATTA expects the pricing control will affect our business partners, especially from China" ATTA vice-president Surawat Akaraworamat added.
Tourism Department director-general Wannasiri Morakul said standard minimum tour fees will be set based on various criteria such as which region it is being conducted in.
ATTA also believes the low entry price is only a small part of the problem of zero dollar tour packages.
More important is stamping out the use of illegal guides and tour company nominees. ATTA said.
