Issued at 17.00 Hrs. (GMT+7) on 10 July 2018
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to provide some information on the compensation scheme and support for the affected tourists and victims of the recent tragic boat incidents in Phuket.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ Foreign Tourists Assistance Fund Committee has approved a financial support of 63.96 million Baht. The value of support offered to tourists is estimated and determined as:
- Financial support for the loss of life of 56 victims (estimated) at one million Baht each, totalling 56 million Baht.
- Financial support for medical payments of up to 500,000 Baht each for 10 injured tourists, totalling five million Baht.
- Financial support for mental rehabilitation of 20,000 Baht each for 74 distraught tourists, totalling 1.48 million Baht.
- Financial support for losses or damages caused by trip cancellations of 20,000 Baht each for 74 distraught tourists, totalling 1.48 million Baht.
The compensation scheme from the Ministry is an addition to the compensation scheme under insurance policies taken out by boat operators and tour companies of the sunken Phoenix and Sereniga as follows:
Under the insurance policies taken out by T.C. Blue Dream Co., which operated the Phoenix, the financial compensation includes:
- For the loss of life, one million Baht each under the travel insurance policy and another 100,000 Baht each under the boat passenger insurance policy, totalling 1.1 million Baht each;
- For medical payments, up to 500,000 Baht each under the travel insurance policy and up to 15,000 Baht under the boat passenger insurance policy, or up to 515,000 Baht each.
Meanwhile, under the insurance policies taken out by Lazy Cat Travel Ltd., which operated the Sereniga, the financial compensation for medical payments are up to 500,000 Baht each under the travel insurance policy and up to 15.000 Baht under the boat passenger insurance policy, or up to 515,000 Baht each.
In addition, since the tragic event occurred, all travel-related agencies have been offering efforts as follows:
- The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) has provided support in transportation by offering 20 vans for the affected tourists and families of the victims for transfer purposes, as well as assigning 20 Chinese-speaking interpreters to help them with local communication.
- The Thai Hotels Association (THA) Southern Chapter has provided support for accommodation by offering 500 room/nights from 50 hotels for families and relatives of the victims.
