The government of Thailand has extended a state of emergency in 19 of the country’s 76 provinces. The move – which grants powers to disperse public gatherings – follows the deaths of nearly 100 anti-government protestors in April this year.

The tourism industry in Phuket has urged the government to expedite assistance measures to help recover the tourism industries in provinces outside of the capital.

Twenty-six countries have scaled down their travel advisories to Thailand following the government’s recent decision to revoke the curfew in Bangkok and 23 other provinces.

The Thailand PATA Chapter regrets to observe that Royal Orchid Holidays (ROH), a division of THAI Airways International, has come up with a self-defeating tourism recovery strategy for Thailand – price reductions of 50%.

Thailand is plotting its return from the tourism cold now that control and order has been restored in Bangkok. The government estimates US$1.5 billion has been lost in tourism revenue following two months of political upheaval, whilst many fear that Thailand’s image as the “Land of Smiles” has been shattered by the violence that left 88 dead and 1,900 injured.

The curfew in Bangkok has been extended by a further three nights as Thai troops attempt to storm the anti-government protesters’ camp and weed out the ringleaders. The army insisted the violence was now under control following yesterday’s outburst which claimed a further 14 lives.