Foreign Tour Guides To Be Targeted

Thai authorities have reiterated that they will continue to crack down on foreigners who insist on working as illegal tour guides.

Tour guide roles in the Kingdom are set aside for Thai nationals only and as such, the prime minister says the policy will be applied rigorously.

But the nation has a problem, for they have a severe shortage of tour guides in Thailand, which is opening doors for foreigners to take up positions, albeit it illegally.

The Kingdom has over 70,000 people registered to work as guides but 20,000 or so, are restricted to certain areas of the country. Just because you are cleared to work in Pattaya, does not give you the right to work in Bangkok for instance.

One of the problems faced by recruiters, is guides are required to speak English or other languages, so as to cater for their audience.

The government is also keen to cut down on what is known as "zero dollar tours". This is a problem in China, where tourists are charged knock down prices for their vacations but then face overpricing once arriving in Thailand.

This of course is not good for tourism in Thailand.

Source: Phuket News