Thailand Tourism Update
September 25th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
My wife and I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Phuket, Thailand’s most popular island tourist destination.
It was certainly “business-as-usual” for Phuket, with no sign of any protestors or unrest of any kind. Everthing was operating as normal, but there was one big difference - the number of tourists in Phuket in September was down about 30% on the same time last year, following travel cancellations and a drop-off in forward bookings. All of the seminar group bookings from overseas for September were cancelled.
The unrest in Phuket was brief - a group protesters blocked access to Phuket’s airport for 3 days in late August, disrupting the travel plans of thousands. The protest was peaceful, but the widespread international media coverage caused considerable damage to Phuket’s image, and security-conscious travellers were quick to cancel their bookings.
The unfortunate outcome - as is often the case in these situations - is that it is the poorer locals who suffer. The drop in tourist arrivals affects the hotel house-maids, bar and restaurant staff and many other occupations at the lower end of the pay scale. On the bright side, the Thai people seemed extra-grateful for those of us who went ahead with our visit.
It will take time to rebuild the confidence of travellers in Phuket, especially until foreign countries lower their travel warnings for Thailand. But for us, we had a very enjoyable week (our first visit to Thailand). The weather was hot and steamy, the shopping was great (apart from the excess baggage charges on the way home!), and the tourist attractions were uncrowded. We will definitely go back!
travelbug
Thailand Still Open for Tourists
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.
