Chumpol Silpa-archa, the aging Minister of Tourism and Sports, was given an additional duty in the recent Thai Government Cabinet Shuffle Dance this past week.

According to the The Nation, Yingluck changes duties of her deputies, Chumpol Silpa-archa, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, is now the overseer of the Agricultural Ministry.  Makes perfect sense to me!

Grazing in Khon Kaen

Maybe it is a subtle hint that it is time for the Minister of Tourism and Sports to be sent out to pasture.

Khun Chumpol, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, has been busy since the American Embassy issued their emergency terror alert on Friday the 13th of January preaching his “no impact on tourism” mantra to anyone who would listen.

He even got out of his Minister of Tourism and Sports office and made an unheard of visit to one of the areas that supposedly was a terror target, Khao San Road. There was an extreme show of force from the Thai Police (also unheard of on Khao San Road) that were there mainly to protect the Minister of Tourism and Sports and not to provide protection for tourists.

The Minster of Tourism and Sports had the usual bullshit to say to the media, in this case, TTR Weekly, Travel without a worry:

“I am confident that terrorism alert news will not deter tourists from visiting Thailand particularly Bangkok,” he told the media. “Tour operators can handle this situation without any fuss.”

Wrong. Twenty countries have issued warnings and the first sign was the dwindling numbers of Chinese tourists for Chinese New Year.

Addressing a bemused audience of backpackers, he added: “Don’t worry. Please have confidence in Thailand. We will ensure your safety during you stay here.”

Undeterred by the blank stares he reassured them that the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs were doing their best to handle the situation.

I am sure that each and everyone of the backpackers said “Who the fuck is this old man?”  He is the Minister of Sports and Tourism and Agriculture out with the teens slinging the bull.

Mr Chumpol claimed he had personally talked to tour operators and they assured him there had been no cancellations.

Yeah right.  No one cancels their trips to places where there is a suspected bomb threat.

Meanwhile, the Association of Thailand Travel Agents (ATTA) have a completely different perspective on tourism so far this year – ATTA warns difficult year ahead:

The Association of Thai Travel Agents says tourist arrivals to Thailand during Chinese New Year dropped by 30% due to a terrorist threat in the capital.

I guess the Minister of Tourism and Sports and Agriculture didn’t speak to these folks.

ATTA president, Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, said news of possible terrorist attacks, leaked by the US and Israeli embassies, damaged tourism over the Chinese New Year.

Nothing was “leaked”.  The American Embassy in Bangkok sent out a travel advisory warning its citizens about the possibility of a bomb threat in Bangkok and to exercise caution.  The Thai Government’s attempted cover-up of the suspected Hezbollah plot caused the damage to tourism.

“Travel agents have moved clients from Bangkok, mainly  Khao San Road, Bang Lamphu and Soi Sukhumvit 22, where the embassies identified threats.”

The American Embassy gave no such information.  Here is the message from the American Embassy in Bangkok web site:

This message alerts U.S. citizens in Thailand that foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future.  U.S. citizens are urged to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to maintain a heightened awareness when out in public; be alert for unattended packages/bags in public/crowded places and report any suspicious behavior to the nearest law enforcement personnel.  We also encourage you to keep a low profile in public areas, particularly areas frequented by foreign tourists.

Get your story straight and quit pointing the finger at the United States.  If the emergency message had not been posted, the Thai Government would have deported Atris Hussein and no one in Thailand would have been the wiser.

Anyhow, we should all feel safe and secure knowing that our illustrious Minister of Tourism and Sports and Agriculture is on top of things.

Tags: agriculture American Embassy atris hussein bomb threat emergency message khao san road minister of tourism and sports yingluck