cnn poll, Would martial law in Thailand stop you visiting?

[hgv driver]

100%

[BusyB]

Tourists maybe.

But I first came to LOS in late 2003 for 3 months. Fell in love with the place. Spent nearly 20 months there over the last 10 years. Some trips 4 months, some 3, some 6 weeks, just got back Sunday after 4 weeks. Seen 2 coups now although this one definitely has another flavour to 2006, just as the PCRD has a different flavour to Limthongkul's broader based PAD back then. Been around quite a bit, and had a few downs among the ups. Know it fairly well and have farang and Thai friends and currently a nice Thai girlfriend there. Carefully putting down a few roots.

The question is do you walk out on a friend when s/he is having a hard time? For me the answer is no.

[nedkellylives]

Give it a couple of weeks and things will be back to normal, even the bars will be opening late again

it has not effected the majority of expats at present and will not effect the majority of tourists

Life goes on as it allways has in Phuket, its a long way from Bangkok

[hawker9000]

If the curfew is a deal breaker for you, then put off coming. Nobody, repeat nobody, knows when it will end (well, there might be one person who at least has a better idea than anyone else, but he's definitely not saying...). It could be tomorrow, in a few days, ...weeks, ...months. If anyone pretends to know, ask them if they'll refund your airfare if they turn out to have been wrong.

If you DON'T care about the curfew, I don't really think traveler safety is at this point much of an issue - come on ahead!

[nedkellylives]

If the curfew is a deal breaker for you, then put off coming. Nobody, repeat nobody, knows when it will end (well, there might be one person who at least has a better idea than anyone else, but he's definitely not saying...). It could be tomorrow, in a few days, ...weeks, ...months. If anyone pretends to know, ask them if they'll refund your airfare if they turn out to have been wrong.

If you DON'T care about the curfew, I don't really think traveler safety is at this point much of an issue - come on ahead!

You can get travel insurance at present, so why would you want someone to refund your fare

If you cannot afford travel insurance its best not to travel anywhere

[madmitch]

If the curfew is a deal breaker for you, then put off coming. Nobody, repeat nobody, knows when it will end (well, there might be one person who at least has a better idea than anyone else, but he's definitely not saying...). It could be tomorrow, in a few days, ...weeks, ...months. If anyone pretends to know, ask them if they'll refund your airfare if they turn out to have been wrong.

If you DON'T care about the curfew, I don't really think traveler safety is at this point much of an issue - come on ahead!

You can get travel insurance at present, so why would you want someone to refund your fare

If you cannot afford travel insurance its best not to travel anywhere

We also don't know if any more countries will join the US and issue a travel advisory warning, in which case many travel insurance policies will not be worth the paper they are written on (not all..read the small print).

Anyway, just heard officially that the curfew is now from midnight until 4am.

[anotheruser]

at this point I would advise tourists to stay away from Thailand regardless coup or not.. In this day in age with all these new countries opening up their doors to tourists, there are IMHO loads of better, more interesting, more friendly, more unspoiled places than Thailand..

In fact other than maybe flying into Bangkok, I don't think I would rank a trip around Thailand on the top of the list if I were to prepare an itinerary for South East Asian travelers. With places like Siphandon in Laos, the beaches of Vietnam, the Khmer Temples in Cambodia or the pristine Islands of the andaman sea in Burma....very soon thailand is just not going to be as relevant or special for tourists... I mean who really wants to walk around trash laden beaches and tourist packed islands when there are plenty of OTHER places open to them now, its not like the 90's when these countries were closed off

the last few friends I had travel around SEA all ranked Thailand at the bottom of their list after a plethora of other countries including Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Indonesia.....

When you mention places like 4,000 islands, you must bear in mind that there is a permanent curfew of 11 pm. Otherwise I agree with your post.

[CaitlinHappyMeal]

Possibly nuclear war might but not martial law ?

[GOLDBUGGY]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Well let's weigh the problems:
You have to be in your hotel room by 10 PM (and can't even go out for a 7-11 coke, as they are closed also)

Police and army presence after dark.

Your travel insurance probably will not cover you for anything that may happen, especially if it's coup related. (because your country most likely put up a traveler's advisory)

Possibility of a civil war.
Rainy season (OK bring it on, but it is that time of year)

Why would anyone choose Thailand after reading all the news?

In the meantime, let's all enjoy the light traffic, good surf, and uncrowded beaches. (maybe even a bit cleaner water in the klongs, aye?)

I Agree!

I know if I had a choice and I didn't live here already, I certainly wouldn't come here for a vacation when you can go to Cambodia, Philippines, or some other peaceful place in S.E. Asia. But having said that there is other things to consider.

I once went to Egypt shortly after a terrorist machine gun attach on some German Tourists in a Bus. The place was Dead! My Girlfriend and I couldn't hardly see another tourist in Cairo. In a way it was nice. In other ways it was not nice. I normally wouldn't have gone except for a couple of things. My 5 Star Hotel Room overlooking the Nile was discounted to only paying 25%. So $100 for a $400 hotel room back in the mid 90's. My Nile Cruise was half price.

But when I look at Thailand I don't see that here. If anything the Norm here is to raise hotel prices in times of trouble and not lower them. In Egypt there was not Military on the streets or a Curfew. In every respect things were normal except more security at the hotels and more Beggars and Egyptians pushing you harder to buy their wears. So even with the same discounts here, as I had in Egypt, to be honest I am still not sure if I would still come here.

[StefanBBK]

It would not stop me, nor the majority of TV members I suspect. We are not the average tourist looking for two weeks on a exotic beach.

Those however are the majority of tourists. Many of them will be discouraged by the western news coverage, travel advisories etc..

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[nedkellylives]

It would not stop me, nor the majority of TV members I suspect. We are not the average tourist looking for two weeks on a exotic beach.

Those however are the majority of tourists. Many of them will be discouraged by the western news coverage, travel advisories etc..

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

The majority of tourists are not members of TV and probably could not care less what TV members think

The Australian govt is not telling its citizens not to holiday in Phuket, but to avoid demonstrations and

rallies in Bangkok and to avoid travelling in the south of Thailand by road which it has been doing for years

As far as the Australian govt is concerned Phuket is a safe holiday destination and as long as it is Aussies

will keep having their holidays here as they have always done

Better watch out the sky might fall in, your plane might crash or another tsunami might hit Phuket etc etc

[Old Croc]

Aussies flock to Bali as Thai turmoil hits tourism

DateMay 27, 2014

Bali is making the most of this tourism opportunity with many hotels offering special deals for travellers.

Thailand's political crisis has helped boost Bali tourism, with Australians leading a surge in visitors to the holiday island in 2014.

Although a military-enforced curfew has only been in place for a few days across Thailand, instability over several months meant some nations already had active travel warnings.

Thailand reportedly suffered a nearly five per cent drop in tourists in the first four months of 2014 compared to 2013.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association reports overseas visitors to Bali have grown about 10 per cent this year.

Figures available, from January to the end of March, show 831,625 foreigners visited Bali, compared to 727,013 in the same period in 2013.

Most (25 per cent) were Australians - 207,475 compared to 179,375 last year.

The association's Bali chairman Tjokorda Artha Ardana Sukawati says the trouble in its rival destination Thailand is responsible.

"The impact of that is, there has been flow of tourists to Bali," he said.

"Bali is not the only one receiving this flow. Vietnam is also receiving it.

"I don't want to laugh over our neighbour's misery, but this kind of opportunity must be used to its maximum."

To capture holidaymakers reluctant to go to Thailand, Bali is ramping up its promotion and many hotels are offering special deals.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-essentials/travel-news/aussies-flock-to-bali-as-thai-turmoil-hits-tourism-20140527-391ic.html#ixzz335dQVDh2

[nedkellylives]

Aussies flock to Bali as Thai turmoil hits tourism

DateMay 27, 2014

Bali is making the most of this tourism opportunity with many hotels offering special deals for travellers.

Thailand's political crisis has helped boost Bali tourism, with Australians leading a surge in visitors to the holiday island in 2014.

Although a military-enforced curfew has only been in place for a few days across Thailand, instability over several months meant some nations already had active travel warnings.

Thailand reportedly suffered a nearly five per cent drop in tourists in the first four months of 2014 compared to 2013.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association reports overseas visitors to Bali have grown about 10 per cent this year.

Figures available, from January to the end of March, show 831,625 foreigners visited Bali, compared to 727,013 in the same period in 2013.

Most (25 per cent) were Australians - 207,475 compared to 179,375 last year.

The association's Bali chairman Tjokorda Artha Ardana Sukawati says the trouble in its rival destination Thailand is responsible.

"The impact of that is, there has been flow of tourists to Bali," he said.

"Bali is not the only one receiving this flow. Vietnam is also receiving it.

"I don't want to laugh over our neighbour's misery, but this kind of opportunity must be used to its maximum."

To capture holidaymakers reluctant to go to Thailand, Bali is ramping up its promotion and many hotels are offering special deals.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-essentials/travel-news/aussies-flock-to-bali-as-thai-turmoil-hits-tourism-20140527-391ic.html#ixzz335dQVDh2

Been there recently, we have and probably wont go again and prefer Phuket any day

Special deals/discounts always get people who want to save money to change their holiday destination