After an influx of beg-packers coming into the nation and begging residents for cash to fund their vacations, Thailand officials are putting their foot down and asking tourists if they have money before entering the country.

According to Thai Visa, immigration officials at border checkpoints are asking some foreigners coming into the nation who are on a tourist visa to prove they have 20,000 baht or about $605 in U.S. currency. Photos of tourists begging locals for cash — and in some cases asking for illegal work — have circulated online.

Many of these tourists are white and come from western nations as many critics have pointed out. These photos have sparked a conversation about privilege and exploitation on Twitter.

Traveler and writer Radhika Sanghani wrote in The Daily Telegraph that many of these beg-packers have been seen in Southeast Asian nations. "You cannot spend time in some of the world's most deprived areas and fail to see that there is a difference in having your smartphone stolen and not being able to eat," she said. "People who fail to recognize this are the epitome of white privilege."

Twitter users also found the "beg-packing" appalling. Some pointed out that the practice is just another form of gentrification at its worst.

Dawg they gentrified BEGGING I seen it all https://t.co/EQeV6rLRUl

— Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) July 27, 2017

Thailand is sick of "beg-packers" – Western backpackers who beg for money. pic.twitter.com/uVO9DbcLTD

— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 27, 2017

????️ ban
????️ white
????️ people

— Adrian Crawford (@Crawf33) July 27, 2017

And you know I bet they have money but want the "experience" of being poor and trying to make it so they can blog about it later.

— Hannah Drake (@HannahDrake628) July 27, 2017

"I don't know why homeless people think they have it so hard. When I went abroad and begged I got by fine. They just have to do it better."

— Richard Ito (@rich_ito) July 27, 2017

pic.twitter.com/wY1jwYltzK

— Astead W. Herndon (@AsteadWH) July 27, 2017

If I saw any of these people, I promise I would kindly pay a hardworking shopkeep for produce to throw at their heads. Every day.

— Shalisa Alba (@__SHaLiLi) July 28, 2017

Here is a video from AJ Plus showing the various forms of beg-packing.

Thailand is sick of "beg-packers" – Western backpackers who beg for money. pic.twitter.com/uVO9DbcLTD

— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 27, 2017

beg packers

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