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"Tourism prospects remain fragile Published: 8 Mar 2014 at 16.30Online news: Local News BERLIN - UK visitor numbers to Thailand rose at the start of the year despite plunging numbers from some other markets in the face of anti-government protests in Bangkok. However, "at some point there will be a cost" if protests continue, according to Martin Craigs, chief executive of the Bangkok-based Pacific-Asia Travel Association (Pata). The "Teflon Thailand" image the country has earned for its "amazing" ability to bounce back from crises can't last forever, he added. "Of course, traffic [to Thailand] has dropped off," he told the UK-based Travel Weekly in an interview at ITB Berlin, the world's biggest travel trade fair. "What is instructive is how huge the drop is according to [government] travel advisories. Visitors walk past a cardboard cutout featuring a traditional Thai dancer at the Thailand stand of the ITB International Travel Trade Fair in Berlin. (AFP Photo) "Hong Kong dropped 60% from January 2013 to January 2014. But traffic from the UK was almost 10% up [in the same period]." Mr Craigs said the reason was simple: "Hong Kong's travel advisory put Bangkok in the same category as Syria." The UK Foreign Office has not advised against travel to Thailand, acknowledging the fact that the protests have been confined to limited areas of Bangkok. However, Mr Craigs reported hotel occupancy in downtown Bangkok at just 20-30%. He told Travel Weekly: "Of course, people book further in advance from Britain. The UK market is used to a little turmoil and the majority are not coming to spend two weeks in Bangkok. "The UK and Hong Kong are the most extreme examples of what has happened." Pata estimates total visitor numbers to Thailand were down 16% year-on-year in January. "It's not a Ukrainian-style situation [in Bangkok]," said Mr Craigs. "Twenty-two people have been killed in three months in sporadic attacks by extremists. "Nothing has been closed: 98% of Bang

"Green with envy Published: 8 Apr 2013 at 00.00Newspaper section: Life I'm sure there are people out there who aren't aware that there is a 500-rai tract of lush green land sitting smack in the middle of the city. You might even drive past it, or around it, every day, but it has always eluded you. It's the big plot of land belonging to the State Railway of Thailand in Makkasan, bordered on one side by the Airport Link, and on the other by the Chaturatis Road that connects Si Ayutthaya Road with Rama IX Road. No one paid any attention to it until recently when the SRT announced it was considering developing the land into a commercial complex to boost its books, which always stand in the red. I do sympathise with them in a way, having to give away all those free train rides as part of the government's populist policies. As far as state enterprises go, the SRT incurs the highest losses _ over 7 billion baht a year, equivalent to 50% of its annual budget. But suddenly there looms the spectre of yet another commercial complex in Bangkok. The SRT governor was quoted as saying that he envisions a "new Bangkok landmark where people can use the facilities for important events to be seen around the world", citing the New Year's countdown and Songkran festivities among these. He also expects the complex to dwarf the nearby CentralWorld. According to the SRT governor, some 200 rai of the plot will be used for building new roads, and the remaining 300 rai or so will be for commercial development. He does say, however, that 15-20% of this _ approximately 60 rai _ will be landscaped as green areas. He makes it sound so generous I could cry. The way other cities calculate a per capita park area, it seems Bangkok thrives on a per capita shopping centre area. I'm sure we can be proud of the number of upmarket commercial complexes in the city. On the 4.5km stretch of road between Sukhumvit Soi 24 and Pathumwan intersection, I can already count almost 20 shopping centres ranging

"Since 2000, the Bangkok region has experienced annual population growth 2.5 times the rate of growth from 1980 to 2000. By 2010, the Bangkok region - which includes the provincial level city of Bangkok and the provinces of Samat Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Nakhon Pathom -  was nearing a population of 15 million "

It seems like Bangkok is safe for another week!  Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announced that the city should be spared from floods for at least this week. It is predicated that Bangkok will be flooded on either October 15th or 16th. 

"Siam Square: Bangkok's most expensive land price BANGKOK, Oct 25 - A real estate company estimating land prices in the Thai capital indicates that the most expensive plots of land in the country would reach Bt1.5 million/square wah (2 sq metres) in Bangkok's Siam Square, a prime shopping area, this year.   An agency for Real Estate Affairs recently conducted research on changes of land prices in Bangkok. The prime areas are at Siam Paragon department store, Siam Square, and areas near Chidlom and Ploenchit BTS stations. The company said already high prices would increase this year from currently Bt1.4 million per square wah. The second prime areas are land around Wireless Rd and Silom Rd at Bt1.1 million per square wah. Prices of land along BTS skytrain stations have continously increased, particularly at Siam Square and Ploenchit stations, by 16.7 percent in the past year, while prices of land along MRT underground stations have increased by 14.4 percent. The company said price estimates will continue to rise over the next five years."

"Inner Bangkok is going through big changes. New public transport routes and rapid property development means that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is having to reorganize traditional neighborhood boundaries. Here, BK visits the communities at threat and speaks to residents about their fears for the future."

"There are actually three "top" tourist destinations, depending on what metric you consider the most important. The most-visited city is Bangkok, which draws its tourism from Chinese cities large and small, but also strongly from Singapore and Tokyo."

"HOME NEWS NEWSLETTER APPS DESTINATIONS FORUMS HOTELS CLASSIFIEDS WEATHER DATING MORE      Sign In    Create Account AdvancedThis topic Thailand Forum → News → Thailand News   View New ContentHelp  2 Bangkok Is In Desperate Need Of Open Spaces And Fresh Air"

"he paradox: "Transport is the only development sector that worsens as incomes rise. While sanitation, health, education and employment tend to improve through economic development, traffic congestion tends to worsen." So writes Michael Engelskirchen in his Sourcebook on Sustainable Transport. It's hard to disagree when you look around and see supercars, songtaew, taxis, buses, bikes, pick-ups, and tuk tuks trundling bumper-to-bumper along the Bangkok's clogged arteries. But in 15 years, maybe it won't be so bad. That's when the city could (and should) be the proud owner of a rail system promising change at the fabric of its being. "