Tourists Urged to Stay Away From Bangkok

[Admin_2]

The ruling over what happens to Thaksin's money is definitely going to cause some problems...its a lose/lose situation. Just how bad it will be is anyone's guess. I recommend that everyone hide out at our rooftop party the day after the verdict.

"Foreign operators urged to switch tour groups to non-Bangkok destinations

BANGKOK: -- Foreign operators with tours due to arrive next week are being advised to switch their groups to out-of-Bangkok destinations, in order to avoid any impact from rising political tension and the likelihood of protests turning violent.

At least two countries - Australia and Canada - have issued advisories to their citizens to consider safety matters very carefully when travelling to Thailand, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand.

TCT secretary-general Pornthip Hirunkate yesterday said the council had sent advice to all its members to help them deal with the political situation and the potential for violence as the court ruling in ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's assets-seizure case approaches.

Local operators have been urged to ask their overseas alliance partners to come up with alternative destinations to Bangkok in the final week of the month.

Pornthip said operators could still bring groups to Thailand during the period, but they should avoid Bangkok and shift the tours to destinations such as Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin, as well as to provinces nearer the capital.

"The council is moving to give the best options to our alliances to get away from violence which may occur at the end of the month," she said.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the fate of Thaksin's family assets on February 26. The verdict is expected to lead to violence in the capital and other parts of the country.

Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, yesterday said Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa would discuss the issue with the TAT's management on Friday. They will establish emergency plans to deal with a chaotic situation and the effect it could have on tourists.

The TAT is also scheduled to meet with key private associations on February 23 to assemble urgent measures to cope with the situation, he said.

"The TAT is closely monitoring the situation and will focus on a number of possible scenarios. The Crisis Management Centre of the TAT will prepare measures to cope with problems under each scenario," said Suraphon.

The agency has put out a message to its offices worldwide, stating that the political situation is still under control. This is in response to a number of foreigners reportedly calling Thailand to ask about the situation.

The political protests are expected to heat up just as the country's high season is ending. In February alone, the TAT forecast the country would welcome 800,000 foreign visitors, a huge increase compared to the same month last year, when Thailand was reeling from the airport shutdown by anti-Somchai Wongsawat government protesters in December 2008.

Surapol Sritrakul, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, on Monday said Thailand risked falling short of its tourist arrival target of 15 million-15.5 million for the year.

He said political instability scaring away foreign tourists was the only factor standing in the way of the industry's recovery this year."

THE NATION.

[PeeMarc]

Thailand continues to shoot itself in the foot while it staggers into the 21st Century.

Mai pen rai :roll:

[Zombiedriven]

Again with the protests that gets old.

[admin]

What gets me and sort of illustrates why Thailand is difficult to sympathize with in terms of their internal political problems was something I read in either the Bangkok Post or The Nation the other day. It was in a story about the grenade attack on the government house. A general in the Thai army was thought to have had a role in the attack. His statement was that he couldn't possibly be involved because it's not his style. He said if he would have been behind it he would have called and warned people before the attack. Since no warning came, it should be obvious he had nothing to do with it.

How the f*ck do you get a "style" in domestic terrorists attacks that is so well known that the fact that the attack didn't follow your "style" is proof you had nothing to do with it? Tell me what other nation on this earth would allow a general to make such a statement and still keep his job.

[PeeMarc]

What gets me and sort of illustrates why Thailand is difficult to sympathize with in terms of their internal political problems was something I read in either the Bangkok Post or The Nation the other day. It was in a story about the grenade attack on the government house. A general in the Thai army was thought to have had a role in the attack. His statement was that he couldn't possibly be involved because it's not his style. He said if he would have been behind it he would have called and warned people before the attack. Since no warning came, it should be obvious he had nothing to do with it.

How the f*ck do you get a "style" in domestic terrorists attacks that is so well known that the fact that the attack didn't follow your "style" is proof you had nothing to do with it? Tell me what other nation on this earth would allow a general to make such a statement and still keep his job.

T.I.T. Simple as that. :roll:

[admin]

T.I.T. Simple as that. :roll:

Well, it is part of a larger problem in that the military and police only report to the PM on paper. In practice they are both independent pillars of the government that the PM needs to please in order to stay in power. The fact that the police and military basically sat on the sidelines and refused to act in any sort of meaningful way during the airport seizures brought down that government.