The Ministry of Sports and Tourism has been told by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha to set a new order at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew so that there will be a space for people to conduct religious activities while also allowing room for visitors to tour the famous temple, said Colonel Athisit Chainuwat, assistant government spokesman on Tuesday.
The prime minister also expressed concern over the possible impacts from the recent crackdown on zero-dollar tour operators and associates and wanted the Ministry of Sports and Tourism to find out whether the crackdown had impacted on the current tourism promotion plan as a whole, he added.
Earlier last week, the Anti-Money Laundering Office ordered the seizure of about 13 billion baht worth of assets of two major Chinese companies operating zero-dollar package tours. The companies were allegedly bringing Chinese tourists into Thailand at below-cost rate and, later on, forcing them into jewelry shops and overcharging them.
