Thai authorities and the tourism industry have lined up measures to facilitate tourists visiting Bangkok during the planned massive anti-government demonstrations. Thawatchai Arunyik, Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said, “The measures are the results of a meeting between all authorities involved and several major travel and tourism organisations. Our aim is to ensure safety and convenience to tourists while travelling within Bangkok and to and from both Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang International Airports during the current ongoing anti-government demonstrations.”
Starting today, The Ministry of Tourism and Sports will set up a Tourist Care Centre at the Sports Authority of Thailand at Hua Mak Stadium and a Tourist Care Unit at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang International Airports to coordinate with all concerned public and private agencies, including the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourist Police, Immigration Bureau, Metropolitan Police Bureau, Railway Police Unit, the Tourism Council of Thailand, the Thai Hotels Association, the Road Passenger Transport Association and the Association of Thai Travel Agents and Tourism Authority of Thailand.
A Tourist Help Desk will be set up at the BTS Skytrain Siam, Phaya Thai, Ekkamai and Wong Wian Yai Stations and MRT subway Hua Lamphong Station. Each location will be manned by four Tourist Police officers. A Shuttle Bus pick-up point will be set up at the Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn, Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel and Twin Towers Hotel. Each location will have one bus, two vans and one boat on standby.
Frequencies of the State Railway of Thailand’s (SRT) train services from Don Mueang International Airport to Bangkok downtown, ending at Hua Lamphong Station, will be increased to enable visitors and air passengers to connect to their destinations, using the BTS Skytrain, MRT subway and Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link services.
Frequencies of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link services to and from the Makkasan City Air Terminal will be increased to 78 Express and 161 City Line trains per day. Journey on the Express Line takes 15 minutes while the City Line takes 30 minutes. Trains will run every 12 minutes during rush hours (06.00-09.00 hrs. and 17.00-20.00 hrs.) and every 15 minutes during normal hours.
Volunteers and rapid Tourist Police units will be deployed to assist tourists who may require travelling through the protest areas. In addition, accommodation near the airports will be reserved for tourists waiting or arriving late for their flights.
