A working group comprising representatives from two key ministries has been set up to design comprehensive safety measures for foreign tourists following an accident that injured 30 Russians.

Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt recently met with Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Phureesrisak to discuss ways to enhance safety for foreign travelers after 30 Russians were wounded in an accident.

The incident prompted Russia 's council of tourism industry to issue an ultimatum to the Thai Government to take action in ensuring safety for foreigners, or they would stop encouraging Russians to visit Thailand .

The Russian tourism council indicated that it has more than 5,000 travel agencies under its chain which are ready to recommend other tourist destinations to their customers.

Nonetheless, the meeting between the ministers of Transports and Tourism covered tightened safety measures for all travelers, not just Russians, the Transport Minister said.

Chadchart stated that representatives from the government and private sectors also met at a recent meeting during which they identified a number of problems besetting foreign tourists.

Those problems include, among others, the lack of maturity of public transport drivers, driving licenses of foreigners, and vehicle rentals which were causes of several accidents happened to tourists.

The meeting established a working group to address the issues headed by Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Transport Ministry Teerapong Rodprasert. The committee will employ officials from both Transport and Tourism & Sports Ministries as well as tourism police and tourism related private agencies in formulating appropriate solutions within 2 weeks.-VNA