The Royal Kingdom of Thailand has announced 2017 as the year of mourning in remembrance of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. But during this mourning period, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) assures that foreign visitors and tourists will be unaffected. Furthermore, most cultural, traditional and MICE events will still go on with some adjustments for appropriateness. Otherwise, it is business as usual with the mourning period having no impact on travel plans and tours.
Speaking about the current tourism status in Thailand, Soraya Homchuen, Director, TAT Mumbai said, “Our beloved king passed away, who reigned for over 70 years, and has affected our feelings. But this hasn’t stopped tourism to the Kingdom. Business is as usual back in Thailand. There will be no restrictions in Thailand during the mourning period. During this period, till January 31, 2017, most of the museums and historic sites in Thailand will be open for visitors free of cost. The only attraction which will be partially closed for the public is the Grand Palace. Nightlife will not be as happening as it was previously. The late night shows will be closed for a period. The security across the nation has been beefed up.”
Arrivals from India have reached over 800,000 by August 2016 and TAT Mumbai is positive that India will achieve its arrivals target of 1.1 million by the end of the year. Homchuen added, “We remain positive. Indians have become tremendously savvy with checking on the on-ground situation in Thailand rather than falling for the odd sensationalist reports. We look forward to celebrating 1.1 million arrivals by the end of the year.”
To ensure that public and tourists get a chance to pay their respects to the King, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, in collaboration with the public and private tourism sectors and TAT had made arrangements to provide transportation to Sala Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion at the Grand Palace, in the Sanam Luang area. There were over 500 buses taking part in the initiative and more than 120,000 people took advantage of the scheme.
Indian travellers make up a huge chunk in Thailand’s wedding segment. Thailand remains a favoured wedding destination out of India. In 2015, Thailand witnessed about 250 Indian weddings. With the mourning period on, this segment may be partially affected.
Speaking about the weddings and MICE segment, Homchuen said, “Wedding is one of the segments which will be partially affected. But everything will go on as usual in a few weeks. Recently there was an Indian wedding which took place in Bangkok as planned, but the entertainment in the wedding was toned down a bit. In the MICE front there have been no cancellations as of now.”
In another major development in increasing numbers to the nation, Thailand has halved the visa-on-arrival fee for tourists from India and 18 other countries. The fee will now be 1,000 baht (about Rs 2,000). The change was announced less than two months after visa fee was increased to baht 2,000 on September 27.
