Yesterday, a group of Chinese tourists in the Bang Lamung district of Pattaya complained to the Pattaya Tourist Police that their Thai tour guides had abandoned them at an elephant village.
While one of the guides denied the accusation, the police received a complaint from the tourists via the 1155 hotline and went to investigate the matter at the Chiang Mai Elephant Village.
Upon arriving, the Chinese tourists informed the officers that they had been left behind and wanted to return to their hotel. One of the tourists later left a phone interview with a Thai reporter, stating that she did not know why the guides had left them and that they had not informed the group of anything.
The tourist also mentioned that she did not see the guides’ tour guide license card and that they communicated in Chinese very well. The guides’ names were Zhou Zhihao and Jia Jia, and the tourist did not know where her hotel was.
After ensuring that all the tourists were safely escorted back to their hotel, the officers contacted the travel agency mentioned by the group to gather further information.
One of the guides, Pannipa, revealed that the group had purchased a package from the agency and arrived in Thailand on March 20, staying in Bangkok for two days before travelling to Pattaya on March 22.
PRC pattern
The guide explained that they had stopped at the elephant village before heading to a hotel, as per the travel program. However, one of the tourists complained to the guide, stating that the program was boring and requesting a visit to a different location.
Pannipa informed the tourists that travelling off the program would require additional fees, which the group refused to pay. She added that the next program was to visit Koh Larn, which impressed and excited the tourists.
An officer from the Pattaya Tourist Police, Pitchaya Chiaopleung, reported that they plan to conduct a further investigation into the case. The officers also requested that the travel agency release a statement clarifying the issue, as it has a negative effect on the image of Thai tourism. The officers would also take measures to prevent similar cases from happening in the future.