A Hong Kong citizen has been arrested in Phuket for working illegally as a tour guide on the island. The arrest came as police inspected Wat Phra Yai in the sub-district of Karon.
The inspection was triggered by a number of complaints that foreign tour guides were transporting tourists from Hong Kong and China to the temple.
The problem of foreign tour guides has, again, become widespread as tourists start to flock back to the island. Many of the Thai tour guides are unable to speak the foreign languages and some tour groups try and ‘help’ with providing their own guide. But the job of ‘tour guide’; is restricted in Thailand to Thai workers only.
The man arrested was named as 31 year old Wong Tsz Kin from Hong Kong. Officers found him conducting a tour of the temple for Hong Kong visitors, during which he explained the building’s history and shared other information.
Khaosod English reports that when officers asked to see his tour guide licence, he was unable to provide one and was taken to the Tourist Police Office in Mueang district for questioning.
The authorities subsequently discovered that Wong had been selling tour packages online to Chinese customers. Once they arrived, he would take them to their chosen attraction on the island and be their guide.
Anyone found to be operating as a tour guide without the appropriate licence faces a penalty of a 2 year prison term and/or a fine of up to 500,000 baht.
SOURCE: Khaosod English
