Tourists on a beach on Phuket, Thailand. Photo by AFP
Authorities in Thailand’s popular tourist island Phuket are stepping up oversight of motorcycle rental operators as part of a broader push to curb unlicensed and dangerous riding by foreign visitors.
Officials have outlined plans to tighten enforcement against rental businesses that provide motorcycles to tourists without valid driving licenses, as well as riders who breach traffic regulations, The Phuket News reported on Feb. 6.
Proposed measures include requiring motorcycles offered for hire to be formally registered as rental vehicles, granting the Interior Minister authority to designate zones where rental operators must obtain licenses, and imposing fines ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 baht (US$321-3,216) on unlicensed businesses, Singapore-based The Straits Times reported.
Officials also discussed stricter tax compliance, mandatory insurance coverage, and additional regulatory controls to prevent rentals to unqualified riders.
According to the Phuket Provincial Commerce Office, there are 288 legally registered motorcycle rental businesses operating in the province.
Police data cited by The Tiger showed that in 2025, 20,901 foreign nationals and 2,745 Thai riders were arrested for operating rental motorcycles without licenses.
Enforcement actions also targeted operators, resulting in 4,437 arrests, 3,727 fines and the seizure of 1,737 motorcycles.
Phuket has been named as the world’s most overcrowded travel hotspot, with 118 tourists for every single local resident, according to a research by British financial site Money Transfer.
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