Tourists visiting Hat Yai drop sharply

[Lite Beer]

Tourists visiting Hat Yai drop sharply
By Digital Content

SONGKHLA, June 7 -- Tourism business operators have been severely affected, as the number of foreign tourists visiting Hat Yai district in the southern province of Songkhla has dropped significantly.

They have urged the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to lift the four-hour curfew like it had done in other resort areas of the country, in order to revive the tourism atmosphere in Hat Yai, known as a shopping paradise of the deep South among the tourists.

Surapol Kampalanonwat, president of Songkhla’s Tourism Business Association, complained that the number of tourists visiting Hat Yai has “dropped not less than 60 per cent” since the curfew was imposed on May 22 – the day that NCPO seized power in Thailand.

Many small shops are now feeling the impact of the curfew because most of them have to depend on trade sold to foreign tourists -- the majority of them Malaysians and Singaporeans, said Mr Surapol.

The NCPO should consider lifting the curfew imposed in Songkhla in order to improve the tourism climate, he urged.

To date, the NCPO has lifted the curfew in seven popular resort districts or provinces with an aim of not scaring away tourists and to boost tourism revenue for the country. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2014-06-07

[recom273]

Is it really that simple ? Just lifting the curfew .. The place is like a ghost town at the moment.

[12DrinkMore]

Is it really that simple ? Just lifting the curfew .. The place is like a ghost town at the moment.

Dunno,

Suppose a lot come across from Malaysia for a bit of massage and extras and then head off back late at night. If they can't return before curfew, then what can they tell the Misses at home????

"Sorry, got stuck in a traffic jam and couldn't get back after dinner with my friends"

"Oh, where was that then?"

or

"Sorry, Thailand closed the streets"

"What were you doing in Thailand?????????"

[smotherb]

well, it seems many massage parlors in Danok now offer a four-hour massage

[ggt]

Tourism is in decline all over Thailand...Hat Yai...has the added distinction...of being located in a military conflict area...not the first choice of a tourist destination for those in the know...

[marko kok prong]

I would have thought the recent bombings there would be the reason more so than the curfew.

[somchaismith]

Why do they think that tourists would like to visit an area which is part of the South, where there has been so many murders?

Edited June 8, 2014 by somchaismith

[Stocky]

Hat Yai is very popular with Malaysians and Singaporeans with direct flights from KL and Singapore as well as bus and rail links. It's a favourite destination for shopping trips and to party, with many families visiting, it's not men just looking for a "bit of massage and extras"; they don't get much further than the border town of Danok.

The bombings in May had already dented tourist numbers, the coup and curfew have just aggravated things. Hopefully the curfew will be dropped in Hat Yai before the World Cup starts.

Hat Yai is on the edge of the war zone, not in it, generally I'd say Hat Yai is safer than most large Thai cities because of the extra police and army presence.

[Seastallion]

If the number of Western tourists has dropped by 60%, that would make the Euro couple I saw last week the only ones here...and I did see another gentleman. So he's exagerated I think, it's more like dropped by 50%.

[Stocky]

It's not western tourists that make up the numbers in Hat Yai, sure we get a few backpackers on their way north or south, or on their way to Koh Lipe, but the vast majority of tourists are from Malaysia and Singapore and look no different than the locals.

[Stocky]

Well the curfew has now been lifted in Hat Yai.

[Seastallion]

It's not western tourists that make up the numbers in Hat Yai, sure we get a few backpackers on their way north or south, or on their way to Koh Lipe, but the vast majority of tourists are from Malaysia and Singapore and look no different than the locals.

yeah mate, I was being facetious. Wifey and I have a long-running joke where whoever spots the farang in Hat Yai will stop and say "farang!" in a mock-suprised voice.

This came about when I was in Uttaradit about 8 years ago and my presence was a shock to quite a few people on the streets. Wherever I went, people would exclaim "farang!" and point me out to their kids etc. Some kids would burst into tears.

[recom273]

It's not western tourists that make up the numbers in Hat Yai, sure we get a few backpackers on their way north or south, or on their way to Koh Lipe, but the vast majority of tourists are from Malaysia and Singapore and look no different than the locals.

yeah mate, I was being facetious. Wifey and I have a long-running joke where whoever spots the farang in Hat Yai will stop and say "farang!" in a mock-suprised voice.

This came about when I was in Uttaradit about 8 years ago and my presence was a shock to quite a few people on the streets. Wherever I went, people would exclaim "farang!" and point me out to their kids etc. Some kids would burst into tears.

Theres normally an influx of westerners on Wednesdays, i guess they apply for visas in Penang on Monday, after they get their passports back they head back.

[phuketsub]

well, it seems many massage parlors in Danok now offer a four-hour massage

Hmm...could you elaborate on that?

[smotherb]

well, it seems many massage parlors in Danok now offer a four-hour massage

Hmm...could you elaborate on that?

Well, curfew finish, so no longer a problem. However, when the midnight until 4 curfew was in effect, many of the massage parlors would offer a 4 hr job--in by midnight out by 4, 'No muss no fuss, leave it up to us.'