Thailand Travel News

In a series of coordinated attacks in South Thailand, 10 people were killed in separate incidents during past two days. These incidents have come on the fifth anniversary of a bloody assault by the government forces against militants on the Krue Se mosque on 28th April 2004 in which 32 militants were killed.

Of the 10 victims, 4 belong to the same family whose home was attacked by heavily armed gun men. Another two Muslims were shot by the militants while entering the mosque for prayers few meters away from the family’s home. Two men, a woman and a 16 year old girl were killed in the attack while a 13 year old girl was injured.

The militants have been blamed by the government for stirring up the communal tensions between the Buddhists and Muslims.

Attacks by the militants which drive-by shootings and bombings are believed to be carried out to frighten the Buddhists monks from the area. Muslims are who are suspected of collaborating with government officials and police are also killed in such attacks by the militants.

The objectives and goals of the militants have never been clearly specified and responsibility is rarely claimed for such attacks. The militants call for a separate Islamic state has been more of a reactionary step to a history of discrimination.

The recent political turmoil in Thailand has affected the country’s biggest industry in a big way. It has been estimated that the country could lose as much as $ 5.35 Billion in tourism revenue with millions of tourists canceling their trips to Thailand. The main factors being violent street protests, emergency measures which were recently lifted in addition to the airports being mobbed by the protesters.

Recent statistics reveal that Chinese arrivals fell by 80-90%, South Korean by 30-50%, Taiwan by 30% and Japanese by 20%. In revenue this leads to a shortfall of 190 Billion Baht which is a drop of 35% compared to last year as per forecast by Thai tourism council.

The tourism council of Thailand has urged the government to prevent the job losses in tourism industry estimated to be at 275,000.

The prime minister of Thailand – Abhisit Vejjajiva has remarked that quite a few incentives have been brought into force to improve tourism. These include reducing flight landing charges, national park entrance fees and visa fees.

The tourism authority of Thailand is preparing to spend up to 600 million Baht to restore the international confidence in Thailand tourism after it took a sever beating due to recent anti-government protests.

The first campaign involves short feature films about Thailand being aired on CNN, BBC and Bloomberg. Further, media campaigns along with press familiarisation trips for journalists to take a first-hand look at the situation in Thailand are being planned.

Thousands of anti government protesters took to streets just a day after the emergency was lifted and held the first anti government rally. The prime minister expressed his confidence saying that the rally would not turn violent and ugly. He said that security officials were placed to monitor the demonstration closely, making sure that no untoward incident occurred. The demonstration was led by Somyos Pruksakaseamsuk – one of the leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). Somyos said that the demonstrators were displaying to the government that the divide in the country remains.

Though the emergency was lifted by the government with a view to restore things, reconciliation still seems far off after three years of turmoil in the country following the removal of Thaksin in a coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

The opposing parties in this crisis are ‘Yellow Shirts’ and ‘Red Shirts’. Yellow Shirts comprise military, Urban and also middle class Thais who back Abhisit. Red Shirts on the other hand consist of millions of rural and urban poor who are drawn to Thaksin due to his populist policies such as health schemes.

In related news, Sondhi Limthongkul was discharged from the hospital under tight security. He was ambushed when he was on his way to work on April 17th by men in a pickup truck firing assault rifles.

On April 24th, Abhisit Vejjajiva – the Prime Minster of Thailand announced that he was lifting the 12-day emergency in Bangkok. He announced this step in a special session of the Parliament in a bid to heal the anger against the government carried out through protests in the streets. Various protests have been carried out by the red shirted supporters of the exiled ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in order to force the government to conduct general elections.

The state of emergency was put in place after a group of anti-government protesters stormed the summit of Asian Leaders in the city of Pattaya. The supporters of the ex-Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra accused the government of using stringent methods to disperse the supporters who forced the summit to be cancelled.

Hundreds were injured during the clashes between anti- government protesters and police. It was only after thousands of troops were sent by the Government, that demonstrations were called off and order restored in the city to an extent.

The prime minister rejected the call for new polls and instead proposed an all party commission to reform the military inspired constitution drafted in 2007. The constitution has been considered a bone of contention for sometime now, with people criticizing it as backward step from ‘People’s charter’ formulated in 1997.

Best Western is to open a new resort on the Gulf Coast of Thailand, just beyond the boundary of one of Thailand’s most spectacular national parks, Sam Roi Yod.
Best Western Sam Roi Yod is a full-amenity, 76-room property with optional family suites located in Pranburi, about 35 km south of Hua Hin, or a 3.5-hour drive from Bangkok. It is scheduled to open in December 2009.
The resort is set amidst a natural coconut grove at Sam Roi Yod Bay, just three minutes from the beach and adjacent to the park. Deluxe amenities include everything adventurous but comfort-loving vacationers seek, including a swimming pool and a choice of three quality dining outlets offering Italian, Mediterranean/Thai and South American grill cuisine. A Bhuvana my spa, Best Western’s own spa brand, will also be available, as will fitness facilities and a tennis court. Broadband high-speed internet access is available on demand. Guests’ business needs are facilitated with a private meeting room, open air ball room and business center.
Besides this new hotel in Pranburi, Western’s coastal portfolio in Thailand so far includes three hotels in Phuket, three in Krabi and two in Pattaya. Several more Best Western beach resorts will open along the East Coast on the Gulf of Thailand within 2009.
BWI vice president international operations – Asia, Glenn de Souza said that Best Western sees Thailand’s opposite coast to the Andaman as having particular promise as it is attractive to both domestic and regional/international travelers as an alternative to more familiar but overcrowded destinations.
“The figures tell the story. Over the past difficult year, domestic visitors to destinations on Thailand’s Gulf Coast have risen 30%. International numbers have fallen by 10% but that is still substantially less than the declines elsewhere,” the executive said.
As for the target market, the executive explained that Thai visitors are expected to make up a large proportion of the guest list, along with a core of long-stay European and Scandinavian families and retirees as well as other travelers seeking something an extra bit special.