A group of 22 Chinese tourists in Thailand's Phang-Nga province got abandoned halfway through by their Chinese tourist guide on Tuesday night after refusing to pay for activities not included in the original schedule, local media reported.
The tourists were sent to their accommodation around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday after turning to local authorities for help, taiguo.com, a Chinese website based in Thailand, reported.
On their way back to Phuket, the female Chinese tourist guide reportedly required the group from North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to pay 1,800 yuan ($260) for activities not included in the scheduled itinerary.
The guide then asked all the tourists to get off the bus, saying that the vehicle had a breakdown and then left, leaving the tourists behind including a Thai tour guide and a local driver, neither of whom could speak Chinese.
After the incident, the head of the Phuket branch of the tourist agency arrived on the site soon and rearranged the remaining four days' schedule as compensation, which included upgraded food and accommodation.
The tourists are scheduled to return to China on Saturday, according to taiguo.com.
The female guide has no license and local police are investigating whether she was illegally employed by the travel agency. The Thai guide might also face litigation for illegal employment, said the report.
The Chinese tourist guide is at large and a police manhunt is going on.
