Monday, 22 March 2010 21:26 Sai Zom Hseng
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - There is no let up in Burmese people visiting Thailand despite demonstrations by the Red Shirts in capital Bangkok, according to the Thai embassy in Rangoon.
"More and more Burmese are applying for visa for tourism purposes mainly for the Thai Water Festival," said an embassy official in Rangoon.
Thailand's airport statistics reveal that there were a little over 5,000 visitors from Burma during January and February 2010. However, the number has now already gone over 6,500 so far this month.
An agent from the Bangkok-based Association of Thai Travel Agents also confirmed that there is so far no link between tourists coming to Thailand and the on-going protests in the country. They expect more tourists to come to Thailand because of the water festival in April. Thailand celebrates water festival this year on 13-15 April.
A travel agent’s official in Bangkok said, "About 8,000 Burmese tourists came to Thailand during last year's water festival. This year, the number will not to be less than that".
She added that supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are making demands to the government. However, tourism will be affected if the protesters seize or block the airports.
Among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysia is the country which accounts for the most tourists to Thailand with an average of more than 100,000 Malaysians visiting Thailand every month.
The demonstrators in Bangkok have been demanding that the Thai government dissolves parliament and holds fresh elections. The protests have been on for ten days now.
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup in 2006. British-born Abhisit Vejjajiva, assumed office after the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who was ousted after mass protests in November 2008, that shut down Bangkok's international airport.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Subscribe to email feed
