Tourism and Sports Minister of Thailand Sontaya Kunplome today disclosed he had instructed…
Tourism and Sports Minister of Thailand Sontaya Kunplome today disclosed he had instructed the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to explain to foreign tourists the tourism atmosphere in the country remained sound despite a spate of violence in the deep South.
He said he had assessed possible effects from the southern unrest on tourism and found the situation had not affected the tourism atmosphere.
The ministry had not yet received any reports from TAT on cancellations or postponements of trips to Thailand by foreign tourists.
However, he had instructed TAT`s representative offices overseas to give potential foreign tourists factual information on the situation in the deep South and assured them the spate of violence took place in the three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala only.
Foreign tourists must be given a proper understanding that the situation occurs in a limited area and they can tour in many other tourist sites confidently.
Maslin Sukpatta-nanarakul, president of the Local Tourism Business Association, conceded the southern unrest had affected the overall tourism picture of the 14 southern provinces.
Still, the association had successfully managed to give foreign tourists understanding that the violence was limited to the three southern border provinces. So, most tourists did not cancel their trip booking, but chose to make trips to other provinces than the three ones, she said.
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