PM wants action against "misbehaving" tourists

[Gaybutton]

They sanitize it by calling it misbehavior. I call it abject stupidity. To me, the word stupidity accurately describes all the incidents mentioned in this article - and plenty more I read about virtually every week, especially the violent fights that have become common items in the news. I hope this works. I also hope Thailand comes up with better ways to keep some of these people from entering in the first place.

As I always say, I have nothing against sex. I'm all for it. But people ought to have enough common sense to know when it is obviously going too far in public view and they need to do it in the privacy of their hotel rooms.

Most of this is relatively new. For many years when I first came to live in Thailand incidents such as most of these were virtually unheard of. Relatively recently the numbers of these incidents gradually increased until now it is not even unusual to see reports about these kinds of incidents almost daily - including today: https://thepattayanews.com/2026/05/06/s ... ttaya-bay/

I realize just how harsh the consequences should be when caught, depending on what took place, is debatable. For example, I don't know if I would agree that deportation and blacklisting is appropriate punishment for having sex on the beach. That level of punishment seems a bit over the top to me.
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PM vows to rein in misbehaving tourists

Anutin calls for stricter enforcement after series of unsavoury incidents

May 6, 2026

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul vowed on Wednesday to tighten oversight of tourists’ behaviour after a series of incidents including foreigners having sex in public, warning they damage the country’s image.

Mr Anutin ordered strict enforcement of laws against tourists engaging in inappropriate behaviour that violates Thai law, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Tourists exhibiting inappropriate behaviour or causing disturbance to the public and other tourists must be prosecuted strictly according to the law, without exception, especially those engaging in behaviour that violates Thailand’s fine cultural values ​​and those related to drug use,” deputy spokesperson Ploytalay Laksmisangchan quoted Mr Anutin as saying.

The comments came in response to several incidents of foreigners behaving badly that have attracted widespread attention recently.

Among them:

* In Pattaya, local residents complained about public indecency after witnessing four couples engaging in sex in the water earlier this week.
* Also in Pattaya, a tourist attempted a backflip on the roof bars of a moving songthaew, only to lose his footing and slam face-first onto the road.
* In Phuket, police have 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 couple from France was blacklisted and had their visas revoked after video of a tuk-tuk sex romp in Phuket earlier this year triggered outrage online.

Mr Anutin also said that checks by authorities of entertainment venues would be stricter in order to maintain public order.

The government has forecast 33.5 million foreign tourists this year, up from 33 million in 2025. However, authorities concede the forecast could be revised downward in light of the impact the Middle East war has had on travel.

Total international tourist arrivals dropped 7% in April compared to the same month last year, with visitors from Europe declining nearly 16%, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... g-tourists

[Dodger]

A handful of cases out of 33 million tourists???...

Just meaningless babble.

[Jun]

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul vowed on Wednesday to tighten oversight of tourists’ behaviour after a series of incidents including foreigners having sex in public, warning they damage the country’s image.

Mr Anutin ordered strict enforcement of laws against tourists engaging in inappropriate behaviour that violates Thai law, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Tourists exhibiting inappropriate behaviour or causing disturbance to the public and other tourists must be prosecuted strictly according to the law, without exception, especially those engaging in behaviour that violates Thailand’s fine cultural values ​​and those related to drug use,” deputy spokesperson Ploytalay Laksmisangchan quoted Mr Anutin as saying.

Why would the PM even need to get involved in this ?

The government should ensure appropriate laws are in place and the police should do the policing. In practice, of course, the latter spend all day hunting for tea money. I'd suggest that rampant corruption does more to damage the country's image than a handful of incidents from the 35 million visitors per year.