9 September 2023 at 7:16 PUBLISHED
Phuket: The municipal police chief refuted claims made by foreign media that more Russian tourists are now stealing jobs and running businesses improperly.
In response to an Al Jazeera report alleging that Russians have taken control of the island’s business, Pol Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong and staff from tourism-related organizations held a briefing on Friday and the following day.
Since Wednesday, the document has gained a lot of attention on social media.
According to the Al Jazeera review, a significant flood of Russians had purchased real estate on the island, which resulted in an increase in land prices and Russian employment of Thais in the form of taxi pick-ups. The statement also suggested that the area is now home to Russian thieves.
However, according to Pol Maj Gen Sermphan, in the last five years, there have only been three instances connected to Russian thieves. He added that no cases were associated with mob groups and that the majority of cases involved firm issues.
According to Phuket Immigration Police Superintendent Pol Col. Thanet Sukchai, the island’s appropriate agencies are assisting multiculturalism police in resolving issues involving foreigners breaking the law.
Authorities prosecuted 635 immigrants, 78 of whom were Russians, from January to August.
Just six of those Soviet offenders, according to Pol Col. Thanet, were discovered working without a permit.
According to him, the provincial government has given the Damrongdhama Centre instructions to create a Traffy Fondue smart program so that people can lodge complaints online about this problem.
The majority of visitors to Phuket, according to Thanet Tantipiriyakit, chairman of the Phuket Tourist Association, are from Russia.
When compared to 2019, the number of Russian tourists increased by about 80 %.
According to information on tourism in Phuket, 2.46 million foreign visitors visited the island between January and August, with 487,504 of them being Russians.
According to the Al Jazeera report, the rise in Russians on the island occurs as their own nation experiences financial unrest and uncertainty as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The majority of Russian tourists stayed in the nation for brief periods of time, while 9, 275, or 1.9 % of all Russian visitors, remain on the island on a long-term card, according to Mr. Thanet.