The Hindu Business Line : Indian tourist flow to Thailand unabated

The political uncertainty in Thailand following the coup against the Prime Minister, Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, has not dampened the enthusiasm of Indians eager to visit that country.

Leading travel agents as also the two State-owned airlines have reported that it is business as usual as far as Indians travelling to Thailand is concerned.

In a bloodless coup, the Thai Army displaced Mr Shinawatra on Tuesday. "The situation is Thailand is normal. There has not been any disruption to normal life. Our groups and the individual travellers already there are continuing with their tour. Besides, for the winter season, which starts in October, we have been receiving good bookings and do not expect any cancellations," said Mr Karan Anand, Director, Contracting, Cox and Kings.

However, Ms Richa Goyal Sikri, Director, Group Business Development, STIC Travel Group, felt that there could be a slight drop in the number of Indians desiring to travel to Thailand for a short while.

"About 25 per cent of the passengers booked for Bangkok cancelled their trip today. A large number of travellers are postponing their travel plans to a later date rather than cancelling them outright," Ms Sikri said.

The sudden turn of events in Bangkok saw Indian cancel its daily flight from Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday. However, the flight from Kolkata was operated and carried back an almost full load of 141 passengers. The A-320 aircraft operated on the route has a capacity for 145 passengers. "We have also booked more than 50 passengers on the Air India flight leaving Bangkok later tonight," an Indian spokesperson said. An AI spokesperson added that all flights were being operated as scheduled.

Meanwhile, members of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in Thailand have said in a statement that travel and tourism facilities and services were operating normally in that country. The statement added that Thai Airways International was operating its normal schedule for both international and domestic destinations. During January-December last year more than 1.5 lakh Indians travelled to Thailand and there has been a steady growth in numbers this year also.

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