Businesspeople, Airports of Thailand (AOT) representatives, and members of the Chinese community met at the AOT office to discuss Chinese tourists and the problems they face.
Chinese tourists are often victims of drownings during Phuket’s monsoon season, and those at the meeting suggested tourists on the beaches should be given leaflets in Chinese to warn them of the dangers. Officials have already set up warning signs on the beaches in Chinese, as well as red flags, but often these are ignored.
Pol Lt Col Rapeepat Utsaha, deputy superintendent of Immigration Police, based at Phuket International Airport, said Chinese tourists often had problems with filling out arrival cards correctly.
Around 5,000 to 6,000 Chinese tourists go through Phuket International Airport every day – almost half of all tourists arriving and departing.
The meeting was told that some airlines showed a video on board, explaining how to fill it out. Some passengers had also complained that many airlines did not give out arrival cards on board.
Lt Col Rapeepat said, “If tourists come in a tour group, there won’t be problems because the guide will organise it, but sometimes there are problems if passengers come on individual travel.
“I think it would be better if airlines explain to tourists how to fill in the form, or use a multilingual video which explains how to fill it in.
“It is not required by law to show this video on board, basically it is up to the airlines, but if they show this video it will speed up the Immigration process.
“One reason that the Immigration process is so slow is that all the passengers spend so much time around the table filling out the forms once they reach the counter. Their paperwork is not prepared.”
There were also cases of passengers who had stolen items from duty free, though he hadn’t heard much about this problem, Lt Col Rapeepat said
“If the staff member from duty free identifies that theft has happened, they should report it to Tha Chatachai Police – they have a police centre at the airport. Then the police can co-ordinate with relevant officials to bring the passenger back for investigation.”
Chinese businessman Li Zhiyi, who lives in Phuket, told The Phuket News that he thinks the Phuket International Airport upgrade will not be big enough to cater to increasing numbers of Chinese tourists.
“Also, the information signs at the airport should include more Chinese language so when tourists arrive in Phuket they are properly prepared.”