Samak fails to lift operators' hopes

 Methee Tanmanatrakul, president of Thai Hotels Association in the South, said that Samak, in the radio speech early morning on Thursday, did not provide anything that would cool down the situation but rather add more fire to the situation.

 "We expeted that there would be a signal to cool down the situation, like the PM's decision to take a step back. This would lessen conflicts and pave way for peaceful solutions. However, he added fires to the anti-government protesters who could come up with more drastic measures," he said.

  Methee said that the situation has drastically hurt the tourism industry, as 12 countries have already issued warnings for travelling to Thailand. This led to a number of trip cancellations for September and October.

 Tourists to Phuket in particular have cancelled 30 per cent of booked trips. Normally, in this month, they are operating at a low occupancy rate at 50-55 per cent.

 He noted that not to worsen the situation, the government must ensure that no airports are not closed again. Then, political solutions must be sought as soon as possible to restore confidence, or no tourists would return.  

 "All hotels in the South have received cancellations and this would escalate without any solution," he said.