AI video of Thai PM speaking Mandarin aims to reassure Chinese tourists as bookings dip

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has used a heavily circulated, artificial intelligence-generated video this week to tell Chinese tourists that her country is improving safety after an actor fell victim to human trafficking and with pre-holiday travel bookings on the decline.

Shinawatra said in the video posted to her government’s Facebook page that all Thai government agencies will be told to crack down on transnational crimes and enforce illegal-immigration laws.

“I’ve noticed the recent news about Chinese citizens being lured to fraud-ring hideouts in neighbouring countries, and that has set off widespread worries among tourists about safety and human trafficking,” Shinawatra said in the 92-second spot.

“The Thai government attaches great importance to the safety of tourists,” said Shinawatra, who at age 38 is the youngest-ever prime minister of the country that sees tourism as an economic staple.

The video has been picked up by multiple Asian media outlets and cited by news websites in China since its Wednesday release. The clip begins with the prime minister’s likeness acknowledging the use of artificial intelligence to build a Chinese-language video and saying that she does not actually speak Mandarin.

Shinawatra’s appeal comes as bookings for Thailand by China-based travellers fell by 15.6 per cent from January 13-20 compared with the previous week, according to data collected by the travel marketing and technology company China Trading Desk.