Renewed protests a concern for Thailand tourism

www.fco.gov.uk

UK holidaymakers who are planning to visit Thailand in the near future could find themselves facing travel disruptions, as a new wave of anti-government demonstrations are breaking out in Bangkok.

As many as one hundred thousand protesters took to the streets around Government House in the Thai capital on Wednesday morning demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resign and new elections be held. More than 4,000 police were deployed at the scene.

The UK Foreign Office warned Britons in Bangkok that the protests could possibly turn violent, and that areas around government buildings should be avoided. It also recommended that UK citizens exercise caution as they travel around Bangkok. According to the Foreign Office, there is also the possibility that services on the city’s transport network could be significantly disrupted.

Current demonstrators are supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who, according to the protesters, was wrongfully deposed in 2006 during a military coup.

Violent demonstrations late last year led to the fall of the last government and the closure of both major Bangkok airports. The airport blockade by anti-government protesters left tens of thousands of foreign visitors stranded in Thailand – some for more than a week.

Protests at that time also disrupted services at some regional airports in the country, preventing holidaymakers from flying to and from Bangkok to make onward connections.

The recent large-scale rally in the capital followed a two-week sit in by protesters outside the government’s offices. Earlier in the week, the Thai prime minister’s car was attacked by demonstrators as he was leaving a meeting at a hotel in the seaside resort of Pattaya, although he was not harmed in the incident.

www.fco.gov.uk