Spike in tourist deaths sparks Thailand tourism ministry probe
Saturday, 15 Feb, 2016
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Thailand’s tourism ministry reported a 54% increase in the number of foreign tourists who died while in Thailand last year, and is looking at ways to better address tourist safety.
A report from the Bureau of Prevention and Assistance in Tourist Fraud said 83 foreign tourists lost their lives last year according to data from the ministry’s 10 regional offices.
It said 34 fatalities were caused by road accidents, nine from swimming or boating accidents, six from congenital disease, four suicides and 30 from a variety of other causes.
The report highlighted several coastal areas which are deemed dangerous for swimmers and highways which have become accident black spots.
A detailed study on water accidents will take place in the resort area of Krabi while research on road safety will be conducted in Chiang Mai.
Pongpanu Svetarundra, permanent secretary at the Sports and Tourism Ministry acknowledged a need to beef up tourist safety in some areas.
"In the past, we did not deal with the root causes of the tourist safety problem. From now on, we will look at the issue and address it seriously," he said.
While the death toll rose sharply, statistics showed the number of significant injuries sustained by tourists fell 160% last year to 166.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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