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Shhhhh! Don’t Tell The Foreigners About The Bombs In Bangkok

By admin on December 17, 2011 in TAT, Thailand / no comments / 479 views

Another idiot at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports came out yesterday saying that Thai Government Officials should be careful and quiet when it comes to reporting about bombs in Bangkok.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) is the agency above the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the main promoter of all things in Thailand – including the countdown to 2012 at CentralWorld – an area that could be a bomb target as reported by the Thai Police.

Bangkok Bomb

I guess that the spokesman for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports knows that tourism is way, way down and doesn’t want to scare the foreign tourists away. But, it is way too late for that.

This is from the Bangkok Post, Ministry wants cap on bomb news:

The Tourism and Sports Ministry has asked security agencies to be more careful in giving out news about bombs being planted in Bangkok, because it could affect tourism.

Does this idiot really think it is better to be quiet about the possibility of a bomb exploding in an area where many Thais and foreign tourists go on New Year’s Eve? The Tourism Authority of Thailand is promoting the Countdown to 2012 at CentralWorld in Bangkok and this site was listed as an area of possible bombing. This was reported in The Nation a couple of days ago – Ten sites face bomb threats: police.

Spokesman Watchara Kannika said the ministry is especially worried about news reported by foreign news agencies.

Yes, worried that the foreign news agencies will actually warn tourists to stay away from areas in Bangkok that are possible bomb sites. This is the proper thing to do. Warn people and then let them decide if they want to take the risk. Not warning them when you know that there is a possibility of a bomb is negligence.

He was speaking in a press conference on Friday following the discovery of six home-made bombs at three spots in Lat Krabang, including the wall of a Bangkok Bank branch at Sukhumvit 77 early in the morning.

Yep. First there is a warning about 10 sites where there is a threat of bombs over the holidays and just yesterday the Thai Police arrest a guy for planting 6 bombs in Bangkok – from The Nation – Man arrested for allegedly planting six bombs in Bangkok. According the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, this is not supposed to be reported or tourists may not come to Bangkok. I guess he wants the news from the Thai Government to be inaccurate, dated, incomplete, incorrect, and in some cases, totally false like it was during coverage of the floods.

“Relevant agencies,” Mr Watchara said, “had better work carefully and quietly. They should not tell of their actions officially.”

This sounds like a threat from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. All news needs to be reported. The Thai Government needs to learn about transparency instead of trying to cover things up after they are exposed. Lying after the fact makes them all look like idiots.

On Dec 6 police found explosive materials in a bag at a traffic island near the Government Lottery Office on Ratchadamnoen Avenue.

This is in addition to the ten sites where the New Year’s Eve threat exists and the 6 bombs that were found yesterday. Again, from The Nation – Bomb scare ‘politically motivated’. Of course, they are politically motivated. Remember back 5 years ago on New Year’s Eve when 8 bombs were detonated throughout Bangkok. This was mere months after the September 2006 coup.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand need to learn to be open and honest in their reporting of what is going on in the Kingdom instead of trying to sugar coat bad news to protect the image of Thailand and dupe foreign tourists.

Somewhat related, Tom at Isaan-Live went to visit the Dinosaur Museum at Phu Wiang, about 80 kilometers from Khon Kaen city, only to find it either semi-closed, being renovated, or way different than what I saw two years ago. He ran into a French tourist with quite an interest in dinosaurs who had gone to the Tourism Authority of Thailand office in Khon Kaen but he was not told that the place was for all intents and purposes – closed. Tom recommended he go to Kalasin to see a better exhibit.

This is how the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand conducts business – business that will continue to drive tourists to Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia, and Vietnam.