The letter, handed to Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong at a meeting attended by Ministry of Tourism & Sports Phuket Director Santi Pawai, claimed that some foreign tourist guides are operating illegally in Phuket with the support of local officials.
The group’s spokesperson, Krich Thepbamrung, said illegal foreign tour guides had been a problem for many years.
“The number of illegal tour guides has never dropped. It keeps increasing,” said Mr Krich.
“Even some of the big tour companies are hiring them without work permits. There used to be registered Thai tour guides working with the foreign ones in order to avoid trouble but now it is even worse.
“They [foreign tour guides] are working alone now and they do not get arrested. We have complained about this several times but the companies refuse to listen because they want to save costs,” said Krich.
Krich also accused officials of neglecting their duty.
“There are plenty of tour guides standing in front of the airport exit door who are obviously foreigners. They have never been checked for their work permits, even though everyone knows that only Thai nationals can be tour guides,” he said.
The group’s leader also complained about foreign guides’ lack of understanding and sensitivity towards Thai culture, especially at religious sites.
“It is widely known that people must dress respectfully at Thai temples. At Suwannakuha Temple in Phang Nga, for example, foreign guides taking mainly Russian, Chinese and Korean tour groups have even allowed the tourists to wear just their swim suits inside.
“There is no need to hire illegal foreigners. There are a lot of professional Thai tour guides who are fluent in different languages,” Mr Krich said.
“We insist on concrete action and punishment in the near future against illegal foreign guides as well as the officials and companies supporting them,” Mr Krich demanded.
Phuket’s Tourism & Sports Ministry Director Santi Pawai said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding a ban on illegal tour guides had already been presented to all local tour companies with Chinese-, Korean- and Russian-speaking tour guides.
“Almost all the companies have agreed to the MOU. There are a few that don’t agree with it but we expect all of them to sign it by December,” Mr Santi told The Phuket News.