Bloodshed casts black cloud over Bangkok
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This week’s Editor’s Eye was going to be a light-hearted piece about last week’s ‘April Fool’ stories that appeared in the world’s travel press. Sadly however, the weekend’s events in Bangkok have cast such a cloud over the industry that it feels a somewhat inappropriate time to attempt any form of comedy. Given the recent comments in this column about Bangkok not being a dangerous place to visit, the events of Saturday night compel me to follow-up on this.
For people living in Bangkok, it seems incredible that the anti-government protests, which have been largely good natured and peaceful, could have descended into such bloodshed. The fact that 18 lives have been lost is utterly tragic, and one can only hope that the incident was a one-off misjudgement, rather than a sign of things to come.
Despite the best efforts of the TAT and other organisations to reassure tourists, the images being broadcast around the world will have a devastating affect on the country. I long held the view that tourists should not be scared off by negative reporting, but it now seems impossible to maintain that stance. Tourists have to consider their own safety, and Thailand cannot be surprised or disappointed if international arrivals to the kingdom slow down to a trickle. South Korea, Italy, Russia have already cautioned their citizens about travelling to Bangkok. The Dutch government advised against all “non-essential” travel to the Thai capital, while Hong Kong, Singapore, France and Israel have issued similar warnings. China has told its residents to postpone any travel arrangements to Bangkok.
“The bloodshed will pull the Thai tourism sector to the bottom again,” Charoen Wangananont, President of the Thai Travel Agents Association, was reported saying yesterday.
Khun Charoen will be proved right. However damaging the airport closures were in late 2008, the events of last weekend have the potential to be far more damaging to Thailand’s reputation. Inconvenience caused by protests and demonstrations are one thing, but violence and deaths are quite another. Families and businesses simply won’t take the risk of putting their loved ones or employees in danger. Regrettably for Thailand, it seems like once again the actions of the few will again impact the lives of many.
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