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Tourism in Phuket and Chiang Mai, Thailand, not affected by political protests



While I am currently in Thailand, tourism in popular locations, such as Phuket and Chiang Mai, continue to attract visitors amid the nation’s protests in the lead up to elections on February 2, 2014.
Across Thailand there were 300,000 Chinese tourists for the 2013 Lunar New Year festivities. This is expected to remain the same in 2014 for the New Year on January 31 due to the impact of Bangkok’s ‘protest shutdowns’ in which protesters have blocked roads near government buildings. Several grenade explosions in the past week have also eroded tourists’ confidence. BEC-Tero Entertainment announced the cancellation of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons concert in Bangkok for tomorrow (January 22) due to increased political unrest and the weekend’s bomb blast. BEC-Tero reported that the Bruno Mars concert in March will continue as scheduled.
About 20 city roads have been closed or partially closed by anti-government protesters’ Bangkok shutdown operation which is now in its 8th day. Protesters from seven protest sites yesterday (January 20) continued moving to various state government agencies to force government officials to stop working.


However, according to Bangkok Post (January 21, 2014), the president of the Thai Hotels Association’s Northern Chapter said tourism in the north, especially Chiang Mai, has been good since the start of the year, mainly due to the cool weather. He expects that the number of Chinese tourists for the Lunar New Year will hit a record this year in Chiang Mai. Tourism before the Chinese New Year celebrations on January 31 – particularly for the period January 30 to February 10 – has already pushed up the average hotel room rates by 10%.
The political demonstrations have not affected tourism in Phuket, mainly due to strong European numbers (who represent 80% of total arrivals), said the president of the Thai Hotels Association’s Southern Chapter.
But in Hat Yai-Songkhla, about 20% of Chinese New Year reservations have been cancelled due to growing concerns about the political demonstrations, especially bomb threats by southern separatists. Five locations in Songkhla’s Sadeo district were hit by bombs last month, raising concerns about the safety of tourists. In previous years, the hotel occupancy rate for the Chinese New Year is about 80-90%, but this year it is expected to be 60-70%.

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  1. UnknownApril 18, 2014 at 1:48 AM

    Phuket is one top place to visit in Thailand. Beaches and festivals are mainly famous from Phuket. In Phuket you can stay at cheap rate.

    Condos for rent in Phuket

    ReplyDelete

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