TIME FOR A TRAVEL ADVICE DOWNGRADE?
On Wednesday, April 28, the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued advice relating to Thailand. It said: "We currently advise against all but essential travel to the whole of Thailand." That advice still remains valid today, some seven days later.
Government's are quick to issue instructions to their subjects, whether on holiday or resident, yet they're remarkably slow to amend or downgrade the seriousness of the situation.
The "all but essential" travel advice has serious insurance implications, not to mention the fact that many people will be dissuaded from travelling to Thailand when apparent safer options exist.
I know there are more important things happening in the United Kingdom this week. but come on. Get real and downgrade the advice. Bangkok is no more dangerous than it was three weeks ago when the advice was far less severe.
UPDATE: Some six hours after writing this story the FCO amended its advice to read: "The FCO has today lifted its warning against all but essential travel to the whole of Thailand. This decision reflects a reduction in the level of political violence across the country in the last few days. The situation in Bangkok remains tense, and the FCO continues to advise against all but essential travel to the city. Bangkok airport is open and operating as normal. Travellers should continue to exercise caution throughout Thailand and avoid demonstrations. British nationals in Thailand, or planning to travel there, should also closely monitor FCO travel advice. The situation is unpredictable and could change rapidly."
2 comments:
Personally I have agreed with the continued travel warnings from foreign embassies and agencies, and I think they are right to exercise caution. If they started to act like TAT, for example, we would all be thinking Thailand was the best place to be in the middle of a civil war.
I've seen many comments from expats who say that Thailand is still safe despite the ongoing protests. It is. But we know this because we're expats living here and the frequent political instability doesn't bother us at all.
However, tourists come to Thailand to travel around and also go shopping. Bangkok has been virtually shut down for well over a month. Tourists have the pleasure of wandering streets surrounded by barbed wire, tyres, rubbish, red shirts and heavily armed soldiers. Sure, it's not dangerous but it's not exactly pleasurable either.
So I'm with the embassies who err on the cautious side. Foreign governments should be putting more pressure on the Thai government to sort themselves out through warnings and sanctions - not less.
Thailand continues to operate like an irresponsible member of ASEAN, criticising every other country for their opinions and travel warnings, but happy for tourists to spend their money here.
Government's?
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