Thai FM Surapong: 8 countries have already issued travel warnings

[jonesthebaker]

The Israeli's?????

Do they not have a travel warning for any country beside Israel??

cant you read

[shaurene]

Thank God the tourists country's are doing this as I believe it is the only thing the government will start doing things.

I hope so much that a lot more country's do it but not by warning the tourists to just stay away from demonstrations as this is not the problem, the problem is the leniency they give the robbers, rapists and the drunks and drug drivers.

Come on the other country's do your job for your people.

[thaicbr]

Maybe some of you need look behind the scenes

a friend of mine and his family where due to come and stay with us for 2 weeks in december

Today he was informed thay his tavel insurance no longer covered him in Thailand.

so he cancelled his trip

Also my wife works for a large Thai food manufacturer

they have been building up stocks for the high season

If their is a big drop in tourists

no tourists means no sales

No sales mean food stay in the wharehouse

Food in the wharehouse means not enought money for the company to stay in the black

No money Company Lays off staff

Thaskin will not worry he will come home to his billions

But all the staff at her work not walking about marching in protest

I am sure there will be many other things that will hurt the working class Thai if tourist not come for the high season

Not sure where you friend is from or where in Thailand you reside (if he is visiting you ) but just checked the Uk foreign office advisory. And there is nothing that would invalidate insurance. other than the line about the Pattaya ferry and the demo's it's been the same for some time.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand

[NomadRip]

I believe that the protesters at Democracy Monument, a stone's throw from that trendy Khao San Road area, will welcome tourists with open arms.

That was my experience on Monday night. I won't go anywhere near Khao San Rd unless I have to, but I spent a few hours around the Democracy Monument in the crowd, and it was just fine. Same friendly people I always see. I even went to buy food at an impromptu food stall and they wouldn't let me pay for a meal. They were serving everyone, and didn't even charge me. I guess that's a thing at these rallies?

I wasn't waving any flags or anything, as I know I'm just a guest here. But I never felt unsafe except maybe when standing around near the stage where the people were giving speeches. But that wasn't because of anything anyone did. Still smiles everywhere.

I hope it stays that way.

Edited November 6, 2013 by NomadRip

[Muhendis]

"The Foreign Minister said so far French, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Sweden, Israel, and Japan have already issued warnings to their people traveling in Thailand. However, the ASEAN nations have not yet issued any warnings. The warning issued states that travelers, for their own safety, should try to avoid or not to pass through demonstration sites in the kingdom."

Hmmm. No mention of the dangers of Phuket or Pattaya?..........

[Malthus101]

"He urged all sides to remain calm and let the senate do its job in deliberating the controversial amnesty bill."

Yeah right.

[oldsailor35]

I believe that the protesters at Democracy Monument, a stone's throw from that trendy Khao San Road area, will welcome tourists with open arms.

This is not 2010 at Ratchaprasong, there's nobody in another country inciting violence.

Unless the Gov are going to turn the police loose.

I see, you mean like the Dem govt did with the Army .

[oldsailor35]

Tell the tourists from those 8 countries that it perfectly safe to hop on a bus or mini van in Bangkok, trip down to Phuket and hire a waterski, but be careful of those damned redshirts if they happen to find them.

[oldsailor35]

We have our office at Ratchaprasong/Soi Mahalek and things was just fine until Suthep started to be in charge of security.

Let's not forget what the yellow shirts did with the airport.

Oh! but everybody apparently do forget this act of international terrorism !

Edited November 6, 2013 by oldsailor35

[lineofentry]

Media hype, storm in a teacup, no one really cares, it's just internal bickering and jockeying for positions, 99.99% of everything else will carry on as normal and make no difference at all.

[thaicbr]

I believe that the protesters at Democracy Monument, a stone's throw from that trendy Khao San Road area, will welcome tourists with open arms.

This is not 2010 at Ratchaprasong, there's nobody in another country inciting violence.

Unless the Gov are going to turn the police loose.

I see, you mean like the Dem govt did with the Army .

Well the police were set lose first but it seems there was a vast influx of watermelons that had to be guarded sO they couldn't do any thing about the pesky MOB

[hellodolly]

Maybe if the PT government, which Surapong is part of, had not forced the amnestybill (whitewashing all cheats, of all colors) through the house, there would be no need for any government to issue travelwarnings??

As for the travelwarnings?? Is it too much to ask grown up travellers to use common sense??

Furthermore, the Foreign Minister said in his capacity as the Foreign Minister of Thailand that he does not want to see the country's tourism industry to be affected as now is the country's high season, with festivities such as Loy Kratong and Christmas closing in.

He added that every group has the right to protest, however, they should consider the effects caused whether to the economy or the image of the country. He urged all sides to remain calm and let the senate do its job in deliberating the controversial amnesty bill.

One would expect the Foreign minister to know that Christmas in Thailand is not a festival. Of course what does he know Yingluck is flying all over the world and doing his job for him.

then he goes on to say

He urged all sides to remain calm and let the senate do its job in deliberating the controversial amnesty bill.

My understanding was that there was no debate in the house just a procession of speeches on how wonderful it was.

If it had been controversial there would have been some PTP voting against it. How ever they were ordered to vote for it. The man is a complete Idio t.

Hopefully the Senate will turn it down and urge Thaksin to return to Thailand where he can be charged with murder along with Abhist and Suthep.

Fat chance of that.

Edited November 6, 2013 by hellodolly

[Robby nz]

MobileContent, on 06 Nov 2013 - 19:07, said:

We have our office at Ratchaprasong/Soi Mahalek and things was just fine until Suthep started to be in charge of security.

Let's not forget what the yellow shirts did with the airport.

Oh! but everybody apparently do forget this act of international terrorism !

Seems to be nice and convenient for the red posters to forget what their hero did to the country when he instigated and funded the 2010 riots.

[thaicbr]

We have our office at Ratchaprasong/Soi Mahalek and things was just fine until Suthep started to be in charge of security.

Let's not forget what the yellow shirts did with the airport.

Oh! but everybody apparently do forget this act of international terrorism !

WHAT act of international terrorism? Do you mean the fact that AOT (airports of Thailand) closed the airport due to the yellow shirt demonstrators who managed to gain access to the airport because of awful security by the Thailand Police force?

or did i miss the 747 crashing into the tower.. that's international terrorism. The above mentioned was terrible security from the government of the day.. Thaksin's Government.

Ps: I believe that there is STILL no permernant police force/station at the airport

[kingstonkid]

Maybe if the PT government, which Surapong is part of, had not forced the amnestybill (whitewashing all cheats, of all colors) through the house, there would be no need for any government to issue travelwarnings?? width=32 alt=coffee1.gif>

As for the travelwarnings?? Is it too much to ask grown up travellers to use common sense??

in a word YES. People see a crowd and automatically want to see what is happening.

I was in Pakistan before 2001 and the main trick there is put a bunch of tires inthe middle of teh road and burn them Believe it or not we had people working at the HC that were upset that the drivers would not take them there.

Or the 2 girls that came with tank tops shorts sheer blouses and short skirts and could not understand why they were in trouble and al the guys wre tryingt grab their boobs and ass.

We actually had to have 2 Thai girls take them shopping wearing borrowed clothes and they still got upset.

[DocN]

I highly doubt, these are travel warnings. There is a (judicial) difference between a travel advice and a a travel warning.

With "nothing" happening at the moment, those might be travel advice.

[hellodolly]

MobileContent, on 06 Nov 2013 - 19:07, said:

We have our office at Ratchaprasong/Soi Mahalek and things was just fine until Suthep started to be in charge of security.

Let's not forget what the yellow shirts did with the airport.

Oh! but everybody apparently do forget this act of international terrorism !

Seems to be nice and convenient for the red posters to forget what their hero did to the country when he instigated and funded the 2010 riots.

Maybe it is just me but when you said "their hero"

The word losers jumped into my mind.

Must be some connection.

[andyko]

What happens when a country/embassy issues a travel warning?

Do travel agencies cancel selling holidays due to insurance issues?

They sell holidays cheaper

[hellodolly]

I highly doubt, these are travel warnings. There is a (judicial) difference between a travel advice and a a travel warning.

With "nothing" happening at the moment, those might be travel advice.

Well my first reaction was that it was a desperate attempt to white wash the doings of the PTP.

Then I remembered who said it and you might be right

BANGKOK, 6 November 2013 (NNT) – According to Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichackchaikul, eight countries have already issued travel warnings to their people, urging them to avoid demonstration sites in Thailand.

[tetleythedog]

There should be a permanent warning in place. This is really just the tip of the iceberg. The true dangers are in areas like transport...road, rail, and sea. Muggings, rapes,rip offs, drugging tourists, and murder. Followed by corruption of course!

What happens when a country/embassy issues a travel warning?

Do travel agencies cancel selling holidays due to insurance issues?

[simple1]

it's the usual stuff from government - detail from the latest advisory from the Australian govt smartraveller website

Civil unrest/political tension

Large-scale political demonstrations and related incidents in Thailand a few years ago resulted in a number of fatalities and injuries. You should avoid protests, political rallies and large-scale gatherings as well as security deployments associated with such events. You should monitor developments that might affect your safety in Thailand, including the possibility of further violent civil unrest.

On a number of recent occasions, the Thai Government has activated the Internal Security Act (ISA) in some parts of Bangkok in response to planned political protests including in areas frequented by tourists. The ISA provides law enforcement officials and the military additional powers to address concerns about national security. Actions include the power to impose curfews, operate checkpoints, restrict the movement of demonstrators, search for weapons and use force in the case of violence. You should follow the instructions of local authorities, including when the ISA is in force. Further protests could occur.

You should avoid protests and political rallies, and security deployments associated with such events. You should monitor developments that might affect your safety in Thailand, including the possibility of further violent civil unrest and the risk of terrorism.

[kingstonkid]

There should be a permanent warning in place. This is really just the tip of the iceberg. The true dangers are in areas like transport...road, rail, and sea. Muggings, rapes,rip offs, drugging tourists, and murder. Followed by corruption of course!

What happens when a country/embassy issues a travel warning?

Do travel agencies cancel selling holidays due to insurance issues?

When a travel advisory is issued it is just to let people know that coming here is not going to be all sunshine that there are things tha they have to watch out for. The biggest one would be that tensions are a little frayed so be careful. Also when you see a large group that is shouting ahead of you turn around and get out of there as fast as you can.

A travel warning for Phuket would be "rent Jet Ski's or take tuk tuk at your own risk"

Here is a copy of the advisories for Canadians. A better way too put it would be if someone came here and got caught up in the trouble then they cannot say they were not warned.

Advisories

THAILAND - Exercise a high degree of cautionThere is no nationwide advisory in effect for Thailand. However, you should exercise a high degree of caution due to the risk of demonstrations, civil unrest, sporadic violence, and attacks. Widespread flooding regularly occurs, and can leave travellers stranded for extended periods of time.

Regional Advisory for the Preah Vihear temple (Phra Viharn temple in Thai) area and surrounding border regionForeign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada advises against all travel to the Thai-Cambodian border area in Surin and Sisaket provinces. This includes the Preah Vihear Temple area between Sisaket province in Thailand and Preah Vihear province in Cambodia. Consult the Security tab for more information.

Regional Advisory for the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and SongkhlaForeign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada advises against all travel to and through the far southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla (including the city of Hat Yai). These provinces have been experiencing criminally and politically motivated violent incidents. Consult the Security tab for more information.

Let's face stupid is what stupid does but at least stupid has been told not to touch the burner on the stove top.

[smileydude]

Here goes our Minister of Foreign Affairs trying to pass the buck onto protesters for ruining our tourist industry when the obvious killer is our dangerous roads and home grown mafia extortionists.

Those who know Thailand well know your more likely to be assaulted by Tuk Tuk and jet ski scammers then be in harms way from protests.

Those 8 countries should post warnings about Phuket instead.

[kingstonkid]

oops

Edited November 6, 2013 by kingstonkid

[papa al]

My God!

What a terrible photo.

He looks like some kind of hideous green mutant

Snappy dresser though!

[Rionoir]

How about considering the consequences of the ridiculous bill they are protesting?

[yougivemebaby]

Great timing for an anti amnesty bill. Right at the beginning of the highest tourist season with all the lovely weather. Coming and posting it on their twitter and facebook pages! ! it looks great for Thailand. Had they done it in rainy low season they could have avoided protests. But now the victimized protesters look enchanted in the sunlight embracing each other fighting against evil and the man.

I should run for PM of----- somewhere.

[Emdog]

I, like Card, was down at the demos in 2010. I felt very safe and welcomed with open arms. Never saw the slightest bit of anger or dirty looks. Felt safer there than any of the "tourist destinations": those are the places that need travel warnings! Perhaps the one who saw what we did not see went to them with a critical unfriendly attitude? Like begets like? Two days after my second visit the shooting began.

[cigar7]

What happens when a country/embassy issues a travel warning?

Do travel agencies cancel selling holidays due to insurance issues?

They sell holidays cheaper

Your travel insurance will be void, and it will not pay for anything that was covered in the policy. Most medical insurance policies will also not pay when there is civil strife such as riots, etc.

[kiwiinasia]

Don't PANIC!

So long as the bars are open 99% of tourists destinations are safe!