Ceasefire talk brings tourism hope for southern Thailand
The recent unexpected announcement of a ceasefire in Thailand’s restive southern provinces has sparked a glimmer of hope for the region’s beleaguered tourism industry, the Bangkok Post has reported. The provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat have seen tourism slow to “completely zero” in recent years, but last week’s statement from the so-called Thailand United Southern Underground (TUSU) could change all that.
Anake Srishevachart, President of the Thai-Japan TouristAssociation, said she was optimistic; “Tourism activities in thoseprovinces were completely zero for years. The ceasefire announcement should bea very good sign for the Thai tourism industry if it was true,” she toldthe newspaper. “Safety is the first priority for foreign visitors makingdecisions about travel,” she added.
However experts have played down the reported ceasefire, which apparentlymay be a hoax.
The three provinces were popular destinations among Asian visitors,especially cross-border traffic from Malaysian and Singaporean visitors. TATstatistics show that Malaysian tourist arrivals dropped in 2007 1.7% from theyear before, while Singaporean arrivals fell 2.3%. It is thought thatland-border crossing have suffered even more significant declines. What isclear is that the region needs a ceasefire, and tourism operators will havetheir fingers crossed that the announcement was genuine.
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