Thailand issues safety advice to UK holidaymakers
Tourism Thailand has issued detailed advice to help UK visitors travel safely in the country where a British man was shot dead on New Year’s Day.
A blog by the tourist board’s UK PR manager Joanna Cooke emphasises that the "vast majority" of the 800,000 British and Irish who visit Thailand every year enjoy a trouble-free holiday. Indeed, 69% of them are repeat visitors, she said.
Cooke is urging travel agents to read her blog, How to enjoy your holiday and travel safely in Thailand, after a TravelMole poll indicated a reluctance to recommend Thailand to clients following the shooting of City trader Stephen Ashton during a Full Moon party on the island of Koh Pha-ngan.
"Thai people are famous for their hospitality," she writes in her blog. "Thailand is lovingly referred to as the Land of Smiles. Anyone who visits Thailand is sure to receive a warm welcome and a smile.
"Many tourists are overwhelmed at just how kind and helpful the Thai people really are."
There are many positive comments about the destination from holidaymakers on the Thailand Reunited app on Facebook, she said, and she suggested anyone planning a trip looked at the Thailand Fan Club: UK & Ireland page on Facebook.
She said Koh Pha-ngan was becoming increasingly popular with families due to its good choice of accommodation, quiet and safe beaches, but she said tourist who wanted to visit when it was less busy should avoid the full moon party dates.
She also warned that it was safer to stay on the island overnight than to travel back to the mainland by boat in the dark. Other activities to avoid in Thailand, said Cooke, included hiring jet skis and scooters.
Her blog was posted on the day the British, Canadian and Dutch ambassadors to Thailand arrived in Phuket to discuss for the safety of their citizens in the resort.
The Phuket Gazette reported that British ambassador Mark Kent introduced Phuket governor Maitri Inthusut to the website Phukettuktuks.com, which "lists incident after incident of tourists in Phuket being cheated, scammed and even violently attacked by tuk-tuk and taxi drivers".
"The police are doing their best, but there is a serious shortage of officers in Phuket," said the governor.
In June an Australian travel agent was fatally stabbed in a bungled street robbery in Phuket,
By Linsey McNeill & Ian Jarrett
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
United Airlines to be the sole US airline to fly to Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City from October
Iberia adds new US, Latin America routes
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
RX launches WTM Spotlight with an inaugural event in Saudi Arabia
What’s new on Route 66 in Arizona