Phuket tour company charged after Chinese national arrested as illegal guide
Thai tourism officials said a Phuket tour company was charged after a Chinese national was arrested at Promthep Cape for allegedly acting as a tour guide without a licence and working without a permit.
A Phuket tour company has been charged after officials arrested a Chinese national for allegedly working illegally as a tour guide at Promthep Cape, according to Thailand’s Department of Tourism.
The department said officials from the Southern Region 2 Office of the Registrar of Tour Businesses and Tour Guides received a tip-off that a Chinese national was working as a tour guide in Phuket without authorization. They then coordinated with Phuket Tourist Police to investigate.
Officers began monitoring the suspect at about 2:30pm after spotting a Chinese man accompanying a group of seven Chinese tourists travelling in a tour van around Phuket, the report said. Authorities said they watched his behaviour until they were satisfied he was acting as a tour guide, then moved to arrest him when the van arrived at Promthep Cape at about 5pm.
During the inspection, officers found a tour guide work order in Thai issued by Blue Ocean International Tourism Co Ltd, licence number 34/03491. Officials said the document did not identify the assigned tour guide, include a Chinese-language itinerary or list the names of the Chinese tourists.
Officials later summoned the company’s managing director to Phuket Tourist Police Station for questioning, although the Department of Tourism did not name the executive. A company representative, also unnamed, admitted that the company had not provided a licensed tour guide to accompany the tourists during the trip, the report said.
The Chinese national was handed over to investigators to face two charges: acting as a tour guide without a licence under the Tour Business and Tour Guide Act B.E. 2551, and working in Thailand without a work permit under the Foreign Workers Management Act B.E. 2560.
The Department of Tourism said the offence of acting as a tour guide without a licence carries penalties of up to one year in prison, a fine of up to B100,000, or both.
Blue Ocean International Tourism Co Ltd was charged with failing to provide a licensed tour guide to accompany tourists, an offence punishable by a fine of up to B500,000. Officials from the Southern Region 2 Office said legal proceedings against the company would continue in accordance with the law.
The arrest at Promthep Cape has not yet been publicly reported by local authorities, with details of the case instead released by the Department of Tourism in Bangkok.
