Torneyboy Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 You will need blue stripes as well now.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Association of Thai Travel Agents chairman Apichart Sankary criticised the government for failing to maintain order and security during the regional meetings. Yeah that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubsiam Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Let's get real. The trouble dates back to the 2006 coup. Bring back the CEO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Right. Restore the Shinawatra Family Government. That is real democracy! << Bring back the CEO. >> And throw the bastard in a slammer ... in Yala. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Bangkok Post 12 Apr 2009 Tourists likely to stay away for years It could take up to two years before Pattaya's tourism sector recovers from yesterday's events, according to local operators. Pattaya mayor Itthiphol Kunplume said the cancellation of the Asean summit had undermined the city's image. About 500,000 tourists had been expected to travel to the seaside resort for the Songkran holidays. Over 5.5 million tourists visited Pattaya last year, mostly travellers from Bangkok just two hours away. "Tourism here had only just recovered from the shock of [last December's] airport closure. But what happened today is the most severe incident in the history of Pattaya tourism," Mr Itthiphol said. Before yesterday, occupancy in Pattaya had been running at 75% to 80%, the highest level in months. Tourism accounts for around 90% of the area's economy. "It could take up to two years for tourism here to fully recover from the clashes and cancellation of the summit. And Thailand has lost not just its credibility for its handling of the Asean summit, but also the opportunity to integrate with other regional economies," Mr Itthiphol said. At a local hotel, staff stood watching television coverage of the nearby protests with trepidation for the future. "I feel shocked. I hadn't thought that things would turn out this bad," said Monti Meepien, a worker at the Eastern Grand Hotel, located just 10 minutes away from the Royal Cliff Beach Resort where the summit was held. He said around 70% of the hotel's clients were Chinese tourists, sensitive to the thought of political violence. "We had hoped the summit would help the local economy. Now, I think the only direction we can go is down," said 38-year-old Monti. Lek Saingarm, a 48-year-old restaurateur, said her business would be seriously damaged by the violence. "Pattaya depends on foreign tourists, especially as Thais have mostly cut back on spending. "Who will want to go out to eat or go to the beach in a situation like this?" she said. Tourism in the region was only just recovering from last year's political upheaval, which culminated in December with the closure of Suvarnabhumi airport by yellow-shirt protesters under the People's Alliance for Democracy. The rallies now by the red shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship could possibly be the death blow for the country's tourism sector for years to come, locals warned. Tourists in Pattaya said the events had left them shaken and homesick. Ma Yeofen, a 61-year-old Chinese tourist from Shanghai on his first visit to Thailand, said he was worried about his safety after watching TV reports about the protests. "Our tour group was supposed to go to the marina, but we couldn't because the protests blocked the streets," he said. "This is the second major event where domestic politics has had an impact on international tourists. I don't think this should happen." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 It could take up to two years before Pattaya's tourism sector recovers from yesterday's events, according to local operators. Pattaya mayor Itthiphol Kunplume said the cancellation of the Asean summit had undermined the city's image. Understatement ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Tourism hit? Then why are the flights full? By now it should be common knowledge that almost *all* airlines have reduced the number of flights or changed to smaller planes. I guess they learnt from 9/11 and downgraded more swiftly, therefore creating the impression that numbers of tourists didn't go down due to the recession and in regard to LOS due to internal problems... World airlines will lose $4.7 billion this year due to the economic crisis, while revenues will drop by more than after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., a major industry association predicted Tuesday. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 It could take up to two years before Pattaya's tourism sector recovers from yesterday's events, according to local operators. Pattaya mayor Itthiphol Kunplume said the cancellation of the Asean summit had undermined the city's image. Understatement ... I think that this is nonsense. Strikes and demonstrations never kept tourists from visiting a country. Otherwise no one would go to France anymore. The situation is different when tourist are hurt and killed, but even in this case it depends on the numbers of tourist involved and how the media react to the incident (see Egypt were many tourist were killed by islamist terrorists and tourism recovered in the second year) The problem with LOS is that we do not talk about single isolate incidents anymore, but a chain of very different and even non related events which hit tourists direct or indirectly: Tsunami, early closings, recession, unjustified imprisonments of visitors (remember those European lord who died in prison accidentally), violent demonstrations, airport blockade, e.g. The single events merely put a dent in LOS tourism numbers, but combined this jigsaw pieces paint a very ugly picture of LOS. And now consider that due to the recession tourist are booking their trips later than in previous year and know while planning their holiday they hear a travel warning for LOS of riots... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 You make some good points ...still when your leader says not to travel to LOS you have to think twice...we are booked for May ,July and December however ...nothing will stop us ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 You make some good points ...still when your leader says not to travel to LOS you have to think twice...we are booked for May ,July and December however ...nothing will stop us ..... Who is "us"? The three Aussis left not hit by the recession. :content: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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