After finding the majority of Pattaya’s tourist-centric businesses are either operating illegally or offering uncertified products, national government and police officials have opened a consumer protection office inside city hall.
Royal Thai Police advisor Lt. Col. Wuthi Liptapanlop joined Ministry of Sports and Tourism and city officials Jan. 28 to open the center aimed at offering advice and accepting tourist complaints about scams and other problems.
Royal Thai Police advisor Lt. Col. Wuthi Liptapanlop leans in to talk with foreign guests at the new consumer protection office inside city hall.
The office will also continue to run inspections of Pattaya tour operators, car rental agencies, jewelry shops and hotels to crack down on sales of bogus goods and other scams. Inspections will be done by officers from the Office of the Consumer Protection Board, Anti-Money Laundering Office and Ministry of Sports and Tourism.
Establishment of the office comes a week after Wuthi announced results of an inspection of 120 Pattaya businesses which found that the majority of department stores, restaurant, souvenir stands, jewelry dealers, and silver and gold brokers were selling goods “whose authenticity had not been clearly specified.”
The inspection also determined that a third of 21 hotels were operating with invalid licenses and that every car and jet-ski rental agent checked lacked any sort of license.
