(Yicai Global) March 23 -- The Thai Embassy in China has moved to reassure Chinese visitors about safety in the Southeast Asian country, a popular tourist destination.

The Embassy said on its official Weibo account today that Thailand attaches great importance to the travel quality and safety of Chinese tourists. It added that Thailand is well prepared to welcome Chinese tourists and has increased communication channels for them.

“Thailand has always been popular with tourists from all over the world, and many Thai cities have been ranked as ‘a safe city to live in’ by various organizations,” the embassy added. “Therefore, please rest assured that the government has high regard for Chinese tourists and will take measures to guarantee the safety of tourists.”

Discussions about "unsafe tourism in Thailand" have become a hot topic in Chinese social media recently. On March 21, a spokesman for the Thai Prime Minister's Office denied the rumors about it being unsafe to travel to Thailand, and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to clarify the situation, according to news reports.

Beijing Radio and Television Station reported the same day that four Thai immigration officers were suspended following a botched visa renewal scam. After a Chinese man had his papers rejected, he and his Thai interpreter were kidnapped and forced to pay THB1 million (about CNY200,000) in cryptocurrency for their release. They subsequently filed a police report, leading to the arrest of the immigration officers, the report said.

Thailand’s national police chief called yesterday for an accelerated inquiry into the case.

Thai government officials said last month that they expected the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand to reach 500 million to 700 million this year, recovering to about 64 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Editor: Tom Litting