Chinese tourists visiting Thailand for Lunar New Year are worried about being kidnapped by gangsters to work in scam centres, despite efforts to reassure them.
Chinese nationals topped the list of visitors to Thailand last year, with 6.8 million making the trip to the country in 2024.
But high-profile kidnappings on the Thai-Myanmar border have sent a chill through the market at a peak period, with a reported 10,000 trips cancelled during the Lunar New Year holidays.
Thai authorities say they expect arrivals from China over the period from Jan 24 to Feb 2 to be down from 2024, despite higher traveller numbers overall.
Fears increased after Chinese actor Wang Xing was rescued from a scam centre in Myanmar earlier this month.
Wang said he was lured to Thailand on the promise of an audition, only to be smuggled across the border.
The fact that kidnappings appear to be carried out by Chinese speakers is making tourists wary.
Tourism generated more than $50 billion in 2024, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, equivalent to around 10% of GDP.
Of that, travel over the Lunar New Year period accounted for more than $1 billion as Chinese visitors sought shopping bargains and cultural experiences.
However, following kidnapping reports, around 10,000 Chinese tourists had cancelled flights, Airports of Thailand said.
