Anutin orders strict action against misbehaving tourists after Phuket cases

Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on May 7 ordered strict enforcement against misbehaving tourists, citing recent incidents including sex acts in public in Phuket and Pattaya, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. He said foreigners who disturb the public or violate Thai law must be prosecuted without exception, with particular attention to conduct seen as offending Thai cultural values and to drug-related offences.

Phuket cases prompt renewed scrutiny

Police in Phuket have already deported a Spanish man and a Peruvian woman after they confessed to having sex in a moving tuk-tuk.

Last month, a French couple was arrested and deported after video of them having sex on a Phuket beach went viral.

Another French couple was blacklisted and had their visas revoked earlier this year after online footage showed a separate tuk-tuk sex incident on the island.

Pattaya incidents and tourism pressure

The latest order also followed incidents in Pattaya that drew wide attention. Residents there complained of public indecency after seeing four couples having sex in the water earlier this week.

In another case, a tourist tried to perform a backflip on the roof bars of a moving songthaew, lost his footing and hit the road face-first.

Anutin said authorities would step up checks on entertainment venues to maintain public order. The government is forecasting 33.5 million foreign arrivals this year, up from 33 million in 2025, but officials have acknowledged the target could be revised down because of the Middle East war’s effect on travel.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported that total international arrivals fell 7% in April from the same month a year earlier, while arrivals from Europe dropped nearly 16%.

Source: https://www.thephuketnews.com/anutin-vows-to-rein-in-misbehaving-tourists-100148.php