Tourism Council of Thailand urges government to lift martial law

[webfact]

Tourism Council of Thailand urges government to lift martial law

BANGKOK, Thailand - The Tourism Council of Thailand has urged the government to restore tourists' confidence and boost arrivals from key markets after targets were missed last year.

TCT president Ittirit Kinglake said people in markets such as Europe, Australia, Japan, China and the United States were still worried about traveling to Thailand while political issues remain unresolved.

"Martial law in the key concern," he said.

However, people in Southeast Asia are less concerned about Thailand's political woes. Arrivals from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are likely to return to double-digit growth this year.

The TCT called for the government to publicise security and safety issues in order to regain tourists' confidence. Several insurers have been offering special deals for tourists but apparently have had little success.

"Lifting martial law is what the private sector wants to see," Ittirit said.

Last year, 24.7 million tourists visited Thailand, down from 26.7 million in 2013, a 6.6-per-cent drop due mainly to political tensions and the Russian rouble crisis. The arrival target was 28 million. The drop in tourist numbers also resulted in 5.8 per cent less revenue.

This year, Thailand expects 25.5 million arrivals and hopes to reach 29 million in 2016.

To achieve these goals, the TCT asked the authorities to seek of tourists in newly opened countries such as Myanmar, countries in Eastern Europe, as well as niche travellers from mature markets.

Moreover, it may need special activities and promotions to regain slow markets like Russia, Japan, China and South Korea.

Travel agents and hotels are also urged to seek new customers from alternative markets in order to avoid losses.

The TCT today (January 12) will announce four planned focuses for this year: digital economy for tourism, human-resource development, seeking out new markets, and strategic connectivity with the Asean Economic Community.

Thawatchai Arunyik, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the agency had rescheduled the country's biggest tourism event, the Thailand Tourism Festival. It now will be held during January 14-18 from this Wednesday till Sunday at Lumpini Park in Bangkok.

Full story: http://www.eturbonews.com/54383/tourism-council-thailand-urges-government-lift-martial-law

-- eTN 2015-01-12

[Dannyboy666]

Eastern Euros, What More Quality Tourists and Scammers, a New Low for Thai Tourism...

[Somtamnication]

Good request but no cigar. Not for another 4 years. Next request please!!

[Dannyboy666]

Eastern Euros, What More Quality Tourists and Scammers, a New Low for Thai Tourism...

. What's Next , Red Carpet for Nigeria...

[NeverSure]

Must be Monday.

[docshock13]

Won't lifting martial law ruin the TAT's plan to tout Thailand as a safe and secure travel destination as they mentioned before the new year? If new tourism campaigns are in the news almost weekly, I suspect numbers are worse than what the TAT is letting on.

[HeijoshinCool]

But the TAT said martial law was good for tourism. They even announced a marketing campaign to promote it.

Didn't it worK?

[NongKhaiKid]

C'mon folks open an embassy in Pyongyang and encourage the Nth. Koreans to flock here, after all they understand martial law better than most.

[PatOngo]

Happiness can only be returned to the people under martial law.

[chainarong]

Besides a family hesitating to visit a country under martial law , what is the insurance issue with travelling to Thailand , Insurance companies at the first sniff of trouble generally drop the ball and run, the fine print would be interesting to read for Thailand at the moment.

[yellowboat]

Who needs travel insurance anyway ? Sissies !

[tezzainoz]

Crazy

First we her that Yinglucks case may start the red shirts off again

the only thing stopping them is marital law all over ail over Thailand

Now they want to remove Martial Law and give the Red Shirts an open Day to start all over again

We moved into our new house in Hua Hin 2 months ago, and talk to may tourists over the Holiday break, and the Army being in charge makes them feel safe

Back home in Udon even the villages where the wife family lives, no one worries about the army, in fact most are Issan boys anyway

So what is written here is nothing like what I see in real life

RE: Australia

I have seen a increase in emails from friends back home about commit to Thailand, for information coming to Australia, and the planes are still full of passengers

Are we living in different worlds

[chainarong]

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

Who needs travel insurance anyway ? Sissies !

Probably help if your teenage daughter gets injured on a jet ski or being your son being cleaned up on a motor bike , a young guy's family had to fork out $200 grand to get him back from Bali to OZ the other month, for over 30 years I use a special insurance from the US, .If you are in Thailand without insurance you are either stupid or brain dead

[Caveat Emptor]

They can urge all they want but it will fall on deaf ears as the junta has made it clear they ' need ' martial law to remain to cover potential ' eventualities '.

If Yingluck is impeached and there's any form of protests the justification is complete.

[yellowboat]

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

Who needs travel insurance anyway ? Sissies !

Probably help if your teenage daughter gets injured on a jet ski or being your son being cleaned up on a motor bike , a young guy's family had to fork out $200 grand to get him back from Bali to OZ the other month, for over 30 years I use a special insurance from the US, .If you are in Thailand without insurance you are either stupid or brain dead

Every time I am at a Bangkok airport, I see one or more tourists all bandadge on crutches. All get banged up on motor bikes.

[upena]

TCT should talk to TAT about the martial law marketing plan. After all, they share office space.

[boomerangutang]

Paranoia feeds on itself. The mantra of power-grabbing men: "always assume the worst in others."

[boomerangutang]

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

Who needs travel insurance anyway ? Sissies !

Probably help if your teenage daughter gets injured on a jet ski or being your son being cleaned up on a motor bike , a young guy's family had to fork out $200 grand to get him back from Bali to OZ the other month, for over 30 years I use a special insurance from the US, .If you are in Thailand without insurance you are either stupid or brain dead

Every time I am at a Bangkok airport, I see one or more tourists all bandadge on crutches. All get banged up on motor bikes.

....or maybe survived a push off a condo balcony. suicidus interruptus

Edited January 12, 2015 by boomerangutang

[Baerboxer]

Besides a family hesitating to visit a country under martial law , what is the insurance issue with travelling to Thailand , Insurance companies at the first sniff of trouble generally drop the ball and run, the fine print would be interesting to read for Thailand at the moment.

Check your travel insurance is the answer. Very little impact I would guess as there are no government prohibitions on traveling to Thailand.

All the people I know who visited Thailand since the coup have not had problems. Several conferences were moved from Thailand due to the pre-coup violence and fears of it escalating. These have been moved back to Thailand this year. These are affiliated with the UN and various NGO's so sensitive to such things.

To be fair, do you notice any real difference?

[Baerboxer]

Crazy

First we her that Yinglucks case may start the red shirts off again

the only thing stopping them is marital law all over ail over Thailand

Now they want to remove Martial Law and give the Red Shirts an open Day to start all over again

We moved into our new house in Hua Hin 2 months ago, and talk to may tourists over the Holiday break, and the Army being in charge makes them feel safe

Back home in Udon even the villages where the wife family lives, no one worries about the army, in fact most are Issan boys anyway

So what is written here is nothing like what I see in real life

RE: Australia

I have seen a increase in emails from friends back home about commit to Thailand, for information coming to Australia, and the planes are still full of passengers

Are we living in different worlds

No mate, you're in the real world.

Some posters like to pretend otherwise. Remember all the threats about legions of red shirts and "democracy defense volunteers" marching on Bangkok if Yingluck was removed from office, and a coup happened? Never happened.

I couldn't get a flight easily from the UAE to BKK before Christmas and NY. All packed with European (connecting flights) and Middle Eastern holiday makers.

[JOC]

Crazy

First we her that Yinglucks case may start the red shirts off again

the only thing stopping them is marital law all over ail over Thailand

Now they want to remove Martial Law and give the Red Shirts an open Day to start all over again

We moved into our new house in Hua Hin 2 months ago, and talk to may tourists over the Holiday break, and the Army being in charge makes them feel safe

Back home in Udon even the villages where the wife family lives, no one worries about the army, in fact most are Issan boys anyway

So what is written here is nothing like what I see in real life

RE: Australia

I have seen a increase in emails from friends back home about commit to Thailand, for information coming to Australia, and the planes are still full of passengers

Are we living in different worlds

Yes we are living in different worlds!!

If you knew Hua Hin a little better, you would know, that the present high season is the worst in the last 12 years. I am in the business and both I and many colleagues have had to let staff off!!

That is reality, no matter how many happy tourists you have met!

As for the happy farmers back in Udon, I am sure if you asked the villagers in North Korea, you would get the same answer.

Martial law and a strong baht is not a good combination!!

If the General is so scared of YL & Co at least lift martial law in the tourist areas!!

[falangjim]

The tourists who go up and down Silom seem okay. Is that French I hear? Not too sure. Some are young backpackers. Most fit into the 'mature traveller' category. Still, the restaurants seem just a little more busy than usual. It doesn't look like a banner year for Thai tourism, but what do I know? I just see what's on Silom and most places are moderately busy, but nothing seems to be really jumping with activity.

The irony is that it's safer to travel here now that the riots are over. Can't say I love junta or that baboon Prayuth, but if you're a tourist in the city, at least there are no riots or airport closings to contend with. Koh Tao has had murders and hangings, so best avoid Koh Tao.

I love that tourists are avoiding Thailand, at least for the moment it seems. Someone put it best when it's hard to sustain tourism when paying near first world prices but getting 3rd world quality.

[jcisco]

C'mon folks open an embassy in Pyongyang and encourage the Nth. Koreans to flock here, after all they understand martial law better than most.

So the USA can open offices in NK and restart dialog and ease restrictions with Cuba after half a century isolating them, and having the rest of the world do so.... is Thailand getting flack for being early off the mark to be in NK?

[eldragon]

What's the difference really. A rose by any other name still smells like a rose, right?

[Tomtomtom69]

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

Who needs travel insurance anyway ? Sissies !

Probably help if your teenage daughter gets injured on a jet ski or being your son being cleaned up on a motor bike , a young guy's family had to fork out $200 grand to get him back from Bali to OZ the other month, for over 30 years I use a special insurance from the US, .If you are in Thailand without insurance you are either stupid or brain dead

Every time I am at a Bangkok airport, I see one or more tourists all bandadge on crutches. All get banged up on motor bikes.

Maybe the Thai authorities should stop renting motorcycles to tourists, especially those without valid motorcycle driver's licences.

Some cities in Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam have managed to do it, so why not Thailand?

[Tomtomtom69]

29 million tourists? OMG that sounds like hell. Mass, mass, mass tourism. That's Thailand for you. No other country in the world is so obsessed with tourism numbers. What's the next goal, umm 100 million tourists by 2020? How about 250 million by 2025 eh? Let's see if the Thais will feel comfortable with so many tourists that the next TAT deadline will be: "explore the splendors of Thai moo baans" so next thing you know foreign tourists with their cameras and very long lenses will come into every moo baan and start snapping away at us mowing our lawns, doing our laundry, etc.

[FangFerang]

Trying to ascertain the truth here is like trying to swim in sand.

[ldiablo]

Good luck, martial law won't be going away anytime soon.

[Thailand]

Martial law is not the problem.

[seajae]

since the coup I have had more aussie visitors here than before with a lot more trying to get here. You really have to wonder if these tat morons are aware of all the bad press of the murders, rapes, mafia rip offs, road deaths, thefts, police corruption and their money demands etc that is being bandied about in foreign press has something to do with it. Most say that the coup has made them feel more secure as they are aware that the reds cannot gather in force anymore and that the police corruption is starting to go away. I reckon they are simply trying to blame others due to their pathetic ability to control all the crap tat happens here everyday or maybe they just cannot admit that their is a lot of vice in Thailand and a lot of thais are responsible for it