Songkran In Hat Yai Booked Out For Songkran

[george]

VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTH / TOURISM

Songkran in Hat Yai booked out

HAT YAI: Saturday's bombing of a Narathiwat nightstrip shows no sign of hurting tourism in Hat Yai, where hotels are almost fully booked for next month's Songkran festival.

The annual water celebration is expected to pump more than 400 million baht into the local economy.

Somchart Pimthanapoonporn, chairman of the Hat Yai-Songkhla Hotels Association, shrugged off the violence in the three southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.

He said security had been tight in Hat Yai, the business and shopping district of Songkhla, since the New Year. The city was neither near the affected areas nor the target of sabotage.

Hat Yai has about 100 hotels with about 10,000 rooms. Less than 100km from the border it is a favourite destination for Malaysians during weekends and long holidays. With the Songkran holiday from April 13-15 approaching, there have been no cancellations, he said. Hotels downtown were fully booked, and 90% in neighbouring areas _ just like in previous years.

In Bangkok, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said reports that Malaysia had barred its citizens from visiting the kingdom were not correct. The Malaysian police chief had just warned them to be careful.

Suthep Kuasang, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's southern office, which oversees Songkhla and Satun, remained confident the charms of Hat Yai would prevail.

``Hat Yai will attract at least 30,000 Thai and foreign tourists, especially Malaysians and Singaporeans, and benefit from the circulation of at least 400 million baht,'' he said.

Songkhla governor Somporn Chaibangyang was confident Hat Yai was safe. Security agencies were checking every square inch of the city, he said.

--Bangkok Post 2004-03-31

[george]

Non-Thai News Agencies reports the opposite of Bangkok Post....

Tourists flee Thailand’s south after bomb attack

PATTANI, Thailand: Tourists have fled Thailand’s troubled southern provinces after a weekend bomb attack targeted Malaysians, and officials say they fear it may take years to draw visitors back.

The kingdom’s Muslim-majority south has been plagued by violent unrest since January 4, when masked gunmen raided an arms depot and killed four soldiers, triggering a wave of violence that the government has failed to suppress.

But Saturday’s blast, which wounded 28 people in Sungai Kolok, a bawdy town on the Malaysian border popular with tourists, was the first aimed at civilians and the resulting panic has devastated the tourism industry. "Within the next two years, a lot of people who work in tourism here will become fishermen," Abdul Aziz Awangseman, chairman of Narathiwat province’s Tourist Business Association, told AFP.

"After the events of January 4, tourism decreased here by about 70 per cent, but the bomb happened just one kilometre from the Malaysian border, so people in Malaysia are scared, and maybe it’s down to 90 percent now." Thailand’s government has been confounded by the attacks, which have left more than 55 people dead and prompting the sackings of the ministers for defence and interior as well as the regional army chief. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra "should come here to solve the problem, because we are not just facing a decrease, we are facing no income from tourism," Abdul Aziz said.

Since Saturday’s bombing in Sungai Kolok, a town packed with karaoke bars and brothels, hoteliers and officials in the region have witnessed a mass exodus of mainly Malaysian tourists. "Bookings are down about 50 per cent since Saturday," said Sopha Tawa, a manager at the Royal Princess Hotel in Narathiwat, the provincial capital’s most up-market lodgings. "There are no tourists from Malaysia anymore, only Thai tourists, and most of those are government workers."

Meanwhile, Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra said the culprits behind a weekend bomb attack in Thailand’s Muslim south have slipped across the border to Malaysia due to red tape that delayed their arrest. Thaksin said that Thai authorities were working with Malaysian officials to track down the suspects.

--Agencies 2004-03-31

[george]

Thailand's instability hurts tourism

BANGKOK: -- Terrorist bombings and general instability in Thailand's three southernmost provinces has reportedly hurt tourism, especially from Malaysia.

The Bangkok Post reported recent terrorist bombings had hurt tourism after seven Malaysian tourists were killed in the most recent attacks. The Malaysian government had issued a travel warning for its citizens.

"I believe it will take a while before the tourism situation normalizes, as we can't even conclude who actually was behind these attacks, let alone arrest them," said Prapas Inthapasart, director of the Region 3 office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

He said there were many who could be considered suspects in the bombings, including separatists, drug traffickers and groups linked with international terrorists.

Of the 1.4 million international tourists that visited the three provinces last year, 80 percent were Malaysians, according to TAT.

--UPI 2004-03-31