Thai tourists warned of being cheated in China

BANGKOK, September 17 (TNA) - Thailand's Consul-General in Shanghai Buskorn Prugsapongs has warned Thai tourists of being victimized in China, as her office has helped many such victims. Buskorn cautioned on Tuesday that there were reports on female decoys' approaching foreign tourists in China and when they had a date and ate out, the foreign tourists were then extremely overcharged. Buskorn also acknowledged that China has, meanwhile, amended its law to cope with problems related to zero-dollar tours. According to the Thai consul-general in Shanghai, the amended Chinese tourism law, taking effect from October 1, 2013, is aimed to mainly solve the problem of its outbound travelers being lured into zero-dollar tour packages to 137 countries worldwide. The Thai consul-general assessed that, after the amended law is effective, fares of tour packages from China should rise, which will protect tourists and better regulate tour businesses in China. In zero-dollar tour packages, outbound tour agencies in China do not pay a tour fare for travels, accommodations, food and etc. to Thai tour agencies. Zero-dollar tours usually happen to Chinese travelers because of their high number and strong purchasing power. The problem has occurred after the Chinese government relaxed its regulations to facilitate outbound tour groups. (TNA)