Pattaya, Thailand:
Pattaya City officials have held talks with British representatives on the care of British nationals living in and visiting the city, against a backdrop of rising UK concern over cannabis smuggling, road accidents, and tourist confidence.
Deputy Mayor Damrongkiat Pinitkan received the delegation at the meeting, joined by the mayor’s secretariat, assistant secretaries and the chairman of the mayor’s advisory team. The discussion covered assistance for British residents and visitors, road safety, the cannabis situation, and wider economic and tourism issues that city officials say are important to confidence among foreign travellers.
The cannabis issue has become a recurring point in British consular work in Thailand. Cannabis products are widely sold legally in tourist areas, but exporting them is illegal, and bringing any amount into the United Kingdom remains a criminal offence. UK Border Force figures show air-passenger cannabis smuggling arrests rose from 142 in 2023 to 976 in 2025, with a further 600 in the first six months of 2026. Men aged 18 to 37 travelling from Thailand have formed the largest group stopped at UK airports.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in September that more than 200 British nationals are currently detained overseas in cannabis smuggling cases linked to Thailand, and that consular drug-smuggling cases involving Britons abroad more than quadrupled between 2023 and 2025. Many of those caught are young travellers recruited online with offers of free trips or cash to carry luggage that later proves to contain cannabis. Thailand has also tightened exit penalties: since June, people caught attempting to take cannabis out of the country have faced customs fines of 30,000 baht per kilogram, or up to two years in prison if they cannot pay.
British consular officials have previously flagged related problems in Pattaya itself, including uninsured motorcycle accidents and holidaymakers who assume that cannabis bought locally can be taken home. Road crashes remain a major source of embassy cases because treatment, police reports and insurance claims often involve several agencies.
Mayor Poramese Ngampichet said Pattaya places the highest priority on the safety of residents and visitors and will continue to manage tourist areas closely. He pointed to the city’s closed-circuit television network, which covers key locations and can be monitored around the clock to help prevent incidents, support policing and assist tourists in emergencies.
The city said it is ready to coordinate with relevant Thai agencies and the British Embassy in Bangkok so that help for British visitors is handled more efficiently. Officials described the talks as part of efforts to raise standards of visitor care, reinforce the image of Pattaya as a safe tourist city, and support longer-term confidence in the local tourism economy.
News: Natcha Traipipat with Additional English Context by Adam Judd
Photos: Thanapong Unmak
Public Relations Division, Administration Section, Tourism and Sports Bureau