The Italian Embassy in Thailand has issued a trilingual statement apologizing over the incident in which a group of Italian students displayed inappropriate behavior on the BTS Skytrain. Meanwhile, representatives of those present at the scene recorded a video apology, stating that the students involved will return to Italy as soon as possible and will receive strict cultural training.
Today (25 July 2026), a video clip circulated on social media showing a group of Italian students visiting Thailand making loud noises that disturbed passengers on the BTS Skytrain. When a Thai passenger approached to warn them, the students responded rudely — a male Italian student made sexually threatening gestures in retaliation, some Italian students mocked the passenger by saying "Sorry for bringing money to your country," and an argument ensued before they exited the train and flipped their middle fingers. The incident drew widespread criticism from Thai netizens over the rude behavior of the Italian tourists.
Most recently, the Italian Embassy in Thailand issued a trilingual statement apologizing for the incident, stating: "The Italian Embassy in Thailand wishes to express its deep regret over the incident and to strongly condemn the inappropriate behavior of the Italian tourists — a group of young people who had traveled to Thailand on a school study trip — as shown in the video clip circulated on social media.
The Embassy sincerely apologizes to the Thai people and to all those who were caused discomfort or distress by this incident. Italians are fully aware of and deeply appreciate the values that Thai society upholds — respect for others, courtesy, and harmonious coexistence — values that the Italian Republic equally cherishes and holds dear.
The inappropriate behavior of this group of young tourists does not reflect the Italian people as a whole, and cannot be considered representative of the values of mutual respect, friendship, and courtesy that form the foundation of the long-standing relationship between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Italian Republic."
In addition, a video clip was posted featuring four Italian representatives who were present at the scene that day. The first to speak said: "We are representatives of the group of Italians that went viral on the internet yesterday. We made this video to apologize to the Thai people and to Thai culture. We intended to come forward and speak yesterday, but due to worry and fear, we postponed our explanation until today — and we came to realize that was a grave mistake. Therefore, we apologize to the Thai people for what we did to every Thai person and to Thailand."
The next person to speak was the one who had said "Sorry for bringing money to your country." She stated: "I personally feel deeply sorry for what happened. I fully understand that money cannot buy respect. I am truly sorry to everyone who was affected, including for the offense caused to Thai culture and to all Thai people."
Another representative said: "I sincerely apologize to all Thai people. What we did on the BTS was wrong, and I apologize for my own actions and for the actions of all of us. We do not condone this behavior by the students. The students who were involved will return to Italy as soon as possible, and we will train our group to once again show strict respect for culture. Thank you for welcoming us, and we humbly ask for your forgiveness."
