Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn of Thailand said that more than 60% of the hotel rooms of the country are being operated illegally and the authority is planning to bring them all under a planned legal system.
A survey by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports revealed that 400,000 to 450,000 hotel rooms, about 60% of the total, were in violation of the Hotel Act of 2004.
The ministry had been instructed to work with the Ministry of the Interior’s Provincial Administration Department. With cooperation from provincial governors, the ministry would crack down on illegal.
Chairman of the Phuket Tourism Association, Purit Maswongsa, said that a more intricate survey should be done to find out the exact number of hotels who have the required operating licence, those which opted for construction permit but have not received yet, and hotels which have been modified from commercial buildings and are operating without a licence.
Of the 2700 hotels in Phuket, only 900 of them are working under a proper licence. About 1,000 were open for business although still without a construction permit, while the others were commercial buildings modified for use as hotels and operating with a permit.
The illegal hotels charge lower rates than the legally operating hotels and thus are forcing the better standard quality hotels to lower their room rates and affecting the revenue.
