No Law on the Books to Prevent Thai Businesses from Discriminating Against Chinese

As reports of coronavirus cases spread outside China, fear among Thai people that they too might catch the deadly virus has risen dramatically–as has anti-Chinese discrimination.

There is currently no law on the books in Thailand that prevents Thai tourism businesses from refusing services to Chinese travelers.

This has led to many tourism businesses from closing their doors to Chinese visitors to the Kingdom, which could lead to a huge hit to the country’s image in China as a dream destination.

So far, there has only been 14 reported cases of the coronavirus in Thailand.

One tourism trade guild is warning Thai business owners to not turn down Chinese tourists out of fear, but instead to focus on taking sanitary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Simple acts such as wearing masks, disinfecting tables, and sitting Chinese tourists separately from other customers were their top recommendations to Thai businesses.

In 2019, 10.9 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, the most of any country.

That number is expected to fall drastically this year as the total number of Chinese tourists has dropped a staggering 60%.

It certainly didn’t help Thailand’s tourism industry that the coronavirus outbreak occurred right before Chinese New Year–a time when Chinese citizens are most likely to travel abroad.

Anti-Chinese discrimination has not been limited to Thailand–or Asia for that matter–since the coronavirus grabbed headlines.

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