Tourists go wild in Thailand (and Thais have had enough)

[Gaybutton]

I would have thought common sense would prevail when it comes to behavior, especially in a foreign country where the culture norms are obviously quite different from the country you come from. Obviously, at least with some people, it doesn't work that way.

While to me, a few of these incidents are my idea of "making a mountain out of a molehill", I also realize that to Thailand it is a "mountain". If you travel to a foreign country I believe it is your obligation to behave properly according to common sense, their laws, and their customs.

If you are caught in violation, then out you go. And in my opinion lawbreakers, whether they knowingly engage in minor or major incidents, definitely should be treated strictly. That also goes for financial crime such as scams, money laundering, etc.

I too am sick and tired of reading about these incidents that are happening more and more often with escalating seriousness because they reflect on the rest of us who are just trying to live peacefully and abide by Thai law. Those behaviors are what has been causing the problems many of us face when it comes to banking, immigration, etc. Years ago such incidents were virtually unheard of. The incidents I heard about most often were pedophiles getting caught with under-age boys. And just about all of that stopped years ago. I almost never hear about those kinds of incidents anymore.

I'm tired of essentially being punished because of the misbehavior and illegal activity of others - things I have nothing to do with and am not in any way involved with.

A few years ago the behavior of Chinese tourists became so outrageous that they were given instructional behavior pamphlets upon arrival. Maybe they ought to start doing the same thing with all tourist arrivals, no matter what country they come from. If nothing else, at least "I didn't know" would have no validity as an attempt at an excuse.

Wang Chi-Yang: "Wait! Why are you not in school?"
Wang San: "It's Saturday."
Wang Chi-Yang: "Always some excuse!"
- Benson Fong (Wang Chi-Yang), Patrick Adiarte (Wang San), 'Flower Drum Song'
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Tourists go wild in Thailand (and Thais have had enough)

Reported by @benrujo.official

May 22, 2026




Thailand’s tourism industry is built on hospitality, entertainment, and the freedom to unwind. But a recent wave of tourist misconduct has sparked growing concerns about where the line should be drawn. As videos of public indecency, altercations, and disruptive behavior continue to circulate online, Thai authorities are now taking a much harder stance, massively scaling back its visa-free waivers.

Join us this week on #TheSignal as we examine the rise in misbehaving tourists, the impact on Thailand’s image, and why officials believe the issue can no longer be ignored:
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The recent incidents making headlines in Thailand
Why authorities are escalating enforcement
How tourist behavior affects Thailand’s image
Whether Thailand is a victim of its own tourism success

https://www.nationthailand.com/vdo/the-signal/40066484

[Jun]

Since writers are under so much pressure to hype up reality for clicks, it’s only natural to be skeptical.
Most of these articles are primarily designed just to grab your attention, with accuracy a secondary consideration.

Of course there will be some problems with 35 million tourists, but I wouldn't worry until there's something to worry about.

[Gaybutton]

Of course there will be some problems with 35 million tourists, but I wouldn't worry until there's something to worry about.

In my opinion we do have something to worry about. It's all these rules and regulations Thailand keeps coming up with to curtail the misbehavior problems. Those affect me and I think to whatever degree they also affect every farang expat in Thailand. I agree that there will be problems with some of the tourists, and since those are relatively so few compared to the tourist numbers that come, they need to come up with ways of dealing with the problems without causing problems for the rest of us who are not doing anything wrong at all.

[Jun]

Which regulation changes have affected you ?
For me, the removal of the 60 day visa exemption is inconvenient. I presume you are not affected.
Whether they have done that due to tourist behaviour, or for other reasons, such as raising more visa revenue is questionable.

Also, in terms of behaviour, well some of the regulations are reducing control. They serve alcohol at all sorts of hours and cannabis is available almost everywhere. That's going to attract a certain kind of visitor.

[Gaybutton]

Which regulation changes have affected you ?

The two that have me most "unsettled" are the changes I went through with immigration and the changes involved in getting Thai driving licenses. Many other changes have been more subtle, with more potential for trouble. For instance, the dramatically increased "Big Brother" watching. I can't even step outside my door without a security camera watching. I understand the need to catch criminals, but the question of degree bothers me.

Now immigration won't service you at all unless an approved TM-30 receipt is in your passport. That is a fairly recent change.

And now in order to have your 90-day address report accepted you better not owe any money to hospitals. Just how they'll be going about checking that remains to be seen.

Also, while I don't oppose the change of visa free being reduced from 60 days to 30, that does affect me - indirectly. I have friends who come to Thailand and usually spend 2 to 3 months here. That, along with other changes, affects whether they want to bother coming anymore at all, or less often, and spending less time here.

It used to be easy to renew a Thai driving license. Now if not using a visa agent it requires two very time consuming trips to the driving license office - and if you want to get in at all, you better be there early - very early.

Also, the changes in banking regulations is a problem for many, including me when it comes to the ease of getting the necessary documents to satisfy immigration when extending the retirement visa.

Again, the way it used to be and the way it is now are two very different things. The changes are not the result of anything I and most retirement visa farang have ever done, but the result of actions, and all too often, the stupidity of others.

[Jun]

I would think some of that is a result of corruption. Officials making the task as awkward as possible, so that you go to an agency, where tea money is involved. Such as your driving license. That has, as far as I can see, very little to do with the behaviour of others. If the Thais wanted to, they could check everything than needs to be checked AND still make it easy for you.

Changing visa free from 60 days to 30 isn't going to do much to make tourists behave better. What it will do is get more visa revenue out of those who stay longer.

[Gaybutton]

Changing visa free from 60 days to 30 isn't going to do much to make tourists behave better.

I agree with that. I doubt it will do anything to make tourists behave better. The kinds of people who cause trouble can, and I think will, do so just as easily within 30 days as they could in 60 days. I think what Thailand needs to do is a far better job of vetting the types of people who are permitted entry.

Regarding driving licenses, I didn't say the rule changes were caused by the actions of others. You asked which regulation changes have affected me. You didn't ask who caused the changes. That is simply one of the changes - and it is going to get me to go to a visa agent when my renewal comes up - tea money involved or not. The 3000 baht I understand MOTS charges is well worth the price to me so that I don't have to go through all that hassle yet again.

"I'm getting too old for this shit."
- a line used in several movies

[Dodger]

I would think some of that is a result of corruption.

Absolutely

Corruption is the root cause of just about all there is to complain about in this Magic Kingdom.

The additional layers of bureaucracy (and scrutiny) associated with immigration/visa's, banking, and just about every other State run operation, are prime examples. And I see these as being the primary sources of dissatisfaction with expats and tourists.

It's been around 6 months since the largest bank in Thailand was caught committing corrupt acts which led to the arrest of a bank manager and several branch employees...farang accounts being frozen...and the launching of an intense audit of bank records and customer accounts which is apparently still on-going.

I find it interesting that, in all this time, there hasn't been a single news article (that I've seen anyway) describing what's being uncovered during these intense bank audits, e.g., how many accounts were opened fraudulently. Of those accounts, how many were opened with the assistance of an Agent, how many banks are involved, what actions are being taken to prevent these types of corrupt undertakings from happening again?

Instead of reading about this major (systemic) problem involving certain banks, immigration, agents, etc., which impacts everyone's life in Thailand, we're reading about a very small percentage of rowdy farang tourists, which, in comparison to the REAL problems over here, is trivial and not even newsworthy in my opinion.

Oh well...finished my coffee....that's my two cents.

[Jun]

It's been around 6 months since the largest bank in Thailand was caught committing corrupt acts which led to the arrest of a bank manager and several branch employees...farang accounts being frozen...and the launching of an intense audit of bank records and customer accounts which is apparently still on-going.

I find it interesting that, in all this time, there hasn't been a single news article (that I've seen anyway) describing what's being uncovered during these intense bank audits, e.g., how many accounts were opened fraudulently. Of those accounts, how many were opened with the assistance of an Agent, how many banks are involved, what actions are being taken to prevent these types of corrupt undertakings from happening again?

I'd imagine money has been exchanged and they carry on as before.
Meanwhile, someone who I understood to be living in Thailand, on a legitimate visa was recently describing the large fees paid to an agent to get an account opened.

Instead of reading about this major (systemic) problem involving certain banks, immigration, agents, etc., which impacts everyone's life in Thailand, we're reading about a very small percentage of rowdy farang tourists, which, in comparison to the REAL problems over here, is trivial and not even newsworthy in my opinion.

I totally agree.
Also, I wouldn't be taking any notice at all of what's said in clickbait media who have to hype up every story to get attention. Just don't expect balanced and accurate reporting.