[Photo provided to China Daily]

Thailand's tourism authority expects a 7.7 percent drop in Chinese tourists during the Spring Festival holiday, though it expects it to be at least partially offset by a 3.9 percent rise in tourists from elsewhere.

Zero dollar tourists pay everything upfront.

Operators cut any cost they can, while tourists are sometimes cajoled into buying overpriced souvenirs so the company earns a commission. Those are the practices Thailand wants to stop.

But the government's insistence on a minimum 1,000 baht ($28) per night charge for package tourists made Thailand uncompetitive for many Chinese visitors, tour operators say.

"We weren't prepared for this," said Chanapan Kaewklachaiyawuth, secretary-general of Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association.

Chinese tourist numbers fell by 30 percent in November from the year before to the lowest monthly total in more than two years.