PHOTO: Normal, but careful, life goes on in Bangkok as passersby stop for photo ops with military. (Courtesy of Twitter)
Insisting their actions didn't constitute a military coup, the Thai military imposed martial law on the country without consulting the government. The careful wording was probably intended to mollify the rising anxieties of Thailand's Red Shirt faction, which for the second time in eight years, has seen a government that it elected prevented from governing by the military. Ever since the Thai courts recently found Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and nine cabinet members guilty of abusing power, the fear has been that Red Shirt factions would take to the streets and collide with the Yellow Shirt faction.
For stakeholders in Thai tourism, these developments stalled what they had hoped would be a recovery after the six months of demonstrations that just recently concluded with the appointment of an interim government. The annual Songkran Festival in April left a trail of optimism as it saw a wave of about 1.5 million tourists (including 114,000 foreigners) travel throughout the country to commemorate the New Year.
Diethelm Travel, the largest inbound tour operator in Southeast Asia, reports that the army "is urging the public to go on with their daily lives" and that the army wants "to preserve law and order in a more efficient way after the months long political crisis." The report concluded with a mantra that's been repeated since the protests began last year, that all visitors should "avoid protests sites and surrounding areas, political rallies and marches."
"Tour operator members of the United States Tour Operators Association are closely monitoring the situation in Thailand and, as of now, tours are running as normal," said USTOA President Terry Dale. "As always, travelers are encouraged to be cautious. Security and well-being are main focus of our members' tours, so should the situation change, appropriate adjustments will be made."
Diethelm also stressed that "all beach resorts and other destinations within Thailand have not been affected by the political situation and the airports and other transportation systems are running as normal." Past crises in Bangkok have led to the creation of numerous direct international flights to other destinations in Thailand beyond Bangkok. Phuket has been especially successful at continuing to thrive despite the political situation in the capital.
"It's not a good situation for tour operators," said Jerry Chang, president of Pacific Holidays, "but I still have people going to Bangkok and Thailand. One of my staff got back over the weekend. The places people go in Bangkok, like the river side and the Royal Palace, are still safe and secure. The press makes it seem worse than it is and people get scared."
"Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and other places are all fine," said Supinder Singh of Palace Tours, "I'm just steering people away from Bangkok until the situation stabilizes. We worry about a repetition of what happened in Egypt. Things can escalate quickly and so we are very cautious."
Reports from Bangkok emphasize a peaceful situation with all of the attractions open for business. CNN blogger Richard Barrow reports from the streets of Bangkok, "All of the tourist attractions are open as normal and people are shopping in the malls and markets. Life goes on in Bangkok. There is no curfew."
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