THE Immigration Bureau wants to record the fingerprints of all foreigners arriving at Thai international airports and is only waiting on Cabinet approval before the process is introduced.

Phuketwan was told of the fingerprint or fingerscan proposal by the Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Police Lieutenant General Chatchawal Suksomjit, when he opened the new Phuket Immigration HQ at Saphan Hin in Phuket City on July 29.

International travel requiring fingerprint identification is already being used more extensively in the US and is now being considered in Britain.

''Fingerprints work better than any documentation,'' Police Lieutenant General Chatchawal Suksomjit told Phuketwan.

''With this system we can make sure that people on international blacklists, unwanted in other countries, cannot use a forged document to enter Thailand.''

With safety the foremost consideration for travellers and security a priority for governments, it seems only a matter of time before fingerprints replace passports as the most sure proof of identity.

Fingerprints provide secure proof that a person is who they say they are in an age when even the most sophisticated modern passport cannot establish identity with absolute certainty.

By taking fingerprints on arrival, the movements of foreigners could also be tracked more easily within Thailand.

Authorities in some other countries would prefer prints taken at the airport to be destroyed once identity has been established.

Traveller numbers are falling because of rising fares on international schedules, so the timing could not be better for officials to impose a new regime.

Back in January, Phuketwan first reported extensively about the growing use of computer databases across Immigration and other departments to keep a detailed record of the movements of foreigners on Phuket.

New High Tech Immigration Centre Set To Open

It seems to be a positive sign that Thailand can align itself with commonsense international practises aimed at greater safety and security.

We'll also let the over-zealous civil libertarians have their say, along with the liars, thieves, layabouts, con artists, paranoids, outlaws, fraudsters, people traffickers, pedophiles, would-be terrorists and conspiracy theorists.


KOREA deserves several large ticks as a source of tourists for Phuket.

For a start, the country is within the Asian region, so there's no need to worry quite so much about the surging price of long-haul fares.

And Phuket seems to be a place that Koreans love, especially the honeymooners.

The Korean Ambassador, Han Tae-Kyu, said as he opened the new Korean Consulate on Phuket on July 29 that three in every four Korean newlyweds chose Phuket as their honeymoon destination.

''If you get married, no problems, Phuket is not that far away,'' the ambassador said.

The new Korean Honorary Consul is Tosaporn Tephabutra, husband of Anchalee, and a national Democrat Member of Parliament.

In many countries, being an MP would consume too much time for other activities. Not in Thailand.

Khun Tosaporn's capacity to care for the needs of his constituents at the same time as he cares for others is something he shares with Senator Phummisak Hongsyok.

Senator Phummisak, a former Phuket City Mayor, was recently appointed Austrian Honorary Consul for Southern Thailand.

A total of 32,856 Koreans came to Phuket between January and March 2008, down on the 33,145 in same period of 2007 and 64,110 in same period of 2006.

But Cupid will strike again for sure, just as he did after the tsunami when Koreans were outpaced only by Australians in their desire to help the island's recovery with a holiday.

The increasing number of Koreans is a success story for the TAT. Back in 2002, only 40, 080 came but by 2007 that figure had risen to 224,133.

Koreans place fourth for now behind Aussies, Brits and Swedes. But we reckon as long as they keep falling in love, Phuket has a bright future.

The new office of the Korean Honorary Consul is in Maeluan Road, Phuket City, on the same side as the Surakul Stadium and not far along towards Central Festival. Tel: 076-234452.

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