Thailand Still Open for Tourists
Thursday, September 4th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
A popular tourist destination for both families and young fun-seekers, Thailand’s recent political turmoil has dented the confidence of travellers.
The dispute which has been simmering for months between the government and the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) broke out into civil unrest over the last two weeks, with protesters closing several airports for two or three days, including the country’s second biggest airport on the tourist island of Phuket.
All airports are operating normally again, although security has been stepped up. While protestors are continuing to occupy the grounds of Government House, an attempt to organise a large-scale strike of union members this week failed to draw much support.
The government is proposing a national referendum to gauge public opinion on the issues in 
dispute, and this may take further heat out of the stand-off.
About 600,000 Australian tourists head to Thailand each year. The Australian government last week upgraded its security warning for Thailand to a “High Degree of Caution”, in response to the unrest and “the high threat of terrorist attack”. It is unlikely that this will be downgraded anytime soon.
Meanwhile the Thai tourist industry, much of which had to be rebuilt after the devastating December 2004 tsunami, will be anxiously waiting to see whether the current unrest puts the industry on the back foot yet again. In the meantime, the welcome mats are still out at hotels and resorts across the country.
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