A nighttime view of Dotonburi in Osaka. The Tourism Department advises travellers to verify Thai tour licence numbers on its website before booking to ensure protection under the Tourism Business and Tour Guide Act.
The Tourism Department is helping victims of fraudulent and illegal tours visiting Japan to file civil lawsuits, as total damages now exceed 4 million baht.
A travel page called Japon Japan on Facebook received complaints for defrauding travellers, claiming to book services such as trains, flights and hotels in Japan, though the bookings were not delivered as promised following payment.
Jaturon Phakdeewanit, director of the Tourism Department, said it opened a channel for victims to file complaints in this case.
The department has gathered the information of the owner of this social media page and is planning an investigation, he said.
The agency has monitored similar cases involving travel-based social media, as many of them are not registered as tour companies, despite claiming to act as travel agents for customers on platforms, said Mr Jaturon.
“It is difficult to regulate these operators, which normally take ticket reservations and provide services, but can suddenly flee with customers’ money,” he noted.
Some operators accused of misconduct repeatedly launch new social media pages to continue services, even after closing previous pages and losing clients, said Mr Jaturon.
Udom Matsayawanigul, director of tour business and guide registration at the department, said that because this case involves an illegal, unlicensed tour company, the department is unable to revoke its tour licence.
In any case involving misconduct by licensed tour operators, the department will blacklist them from operating a tour business for five years, he said.
For this case, the authority is gathering information from victims and will help them file a civil lawsuit, said Mr Udom.
The department said that selling tour services through social media, including group trip planning or package tours for profit without a licence, is illegal. The operator may be subject to a two-year jail term, a fine of 500,000 baht, or both.
The department advised travellers to check for tour licence numbers on its website before booking to ensure protection under the Tourism Business and Tour Guide Act.
Chonlatee Sangsawang, vice-president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, said that in recent years there have been more instances of travel social media pages cheating tourists, as many of them are not registered companies and are unlicensed.
Mr Chonlatee said small operators, particularly influencer social pages, also posted higher risks in cheating travellers. For instance, in cases where flights or trips were postponed, they have less cash flow than licensed companies.
He said Thai travellers can consult the association about outbound tour operators to check whether they are licensed.
AloJapan.com