Thai agents want protection from foreign competition
The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) is pushing for tougher restrictions on foreign tour operators in Thailand. The organisation is to draft tougher requirements on international operators in order to protect and nurture small domestic businesses. The objective is to strengthen Thai companies ahead of the ASEAN free trade agreement, which will expose the market to foreign competition.
ATTA’s primary concern is the establishment of one-stop travel service providers offering all-inclusive packages, which will starve the local players of business. Another worry is an influx of small foreign players because the language skills of Thai tour guides are inferior to those of other ASEAN guides.
ATTA President Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn told the Bangkok Post; “If the government does nothing about this, then most local tour operators, most of whom are SMEs, will have to close their doors when the AEC is implemented. Requirements for foreign operators wishing to be in Thailand must be tighter. Tourism-related laws should be amended to help our SMEs.”
The group is looking at tourism legislation in China and Singapore, to see how they may be applied in Thailand. For example, the minimum capital requirement for any foreign travel agency setting up in China is THB5 million (US$160,000) compared to THB100,000 in Thailand.
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