Thailand’s colour-coded politics and tourism
Thailand’s tourism industry took another knock over the weekend as protestors brought an ASEAN summit in the southern Thailand resort of Pattaya to an abrupt halt. That was closely followed by a State of Emergency declared in Bangkok and tanks on the street. Visit here for a close-up view of events .
This is the latest in a series of political events which are having a deep effect on the country and, in turn, tourism. The current round started when the yellow shirts occupied Suvarnabhumi International Airport in November 2008. That led to the downfall of the pro-Taksin ‘red shirts’.
The yellow shirts are now in power and it is the turn of the red shirts to take the protagonists’ role.
Political intrigue is nothing new for Thailand. In the 25 years or so that I have been involved in the Thai tourism industry there have been a number of coups; fortunately most of them have been bloodless.
Yet, while political turmoil is almost the norm and it is not the first time there have been tanks on the streets, this is the most extreme I have seen.
What then of the question I raised recently: is Thailand safe? Well, surprisingly, in spite of current events I still firmly believe that, by and large, Thailand is safe for the foreign visitor. Naturally with the usual caveat about keeping away from crowds. (See Travel Advisories).
The critical point though, as I raised in my piece, is how safe the potential visitor is feeling; and images of tanks on the street does little for a person’s sense of security.
I have just spoken with an industry colleague in Bangkok and, as I write, people are still shopping in Bangkok and still enjoying the sunshine on the beaches of Ko Samui, Phuket and Khao Lak. But how likely are you to join them?
