Thai authorities and the tourism industry have prepared measures to facilitate travel of tourists to Bangkok during the planned massive anti-government demonstrations, starting from yesterday, 13 January 2014.

The Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik, said, “The measures are the results of a meeting between all authorities involved and several major travel and tourism organizations. 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 ongoing anti-government demonstrations.”

The following measures have been lined up, starting from 13 January, 2014.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports will set up a Tourist Care Center 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, the Tourist Police, the Immigration Bureau, the Metropolitan Police Bureau, the Railway Police Unit, the Tourism Council of Thailand, the Thai Hotels Association, the Road Passenger Transport Association, and the Association of Thai Travel Agents.

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 dedicated hotels in Bangkok in such areas as, Sathon, Sukhumvit, and Pathum Wan. Each location will have 1 bus, 2 vans and 1 boat on standby. For information on the exact location, contact the Tourist Care Center.

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 hr and 17.00-20.00 hr) 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.