The Tourism Authority of Thailand starts off 2012/2555 by continuing to display their total incompetence.

One would have thought a lesson would have been learned by the Tourism Authority of Thailand during the floods of 2011.

Thailand Flood

A few days ago, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, with input from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, came out with a list of the top ten cities to visit in Thailand.  For some strange reason, Songkhla was listed as one of the top ten in the first ever tourist survey from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in their nine years of existence.  I wrote about it here – Ministry Of Tourism And Sports Conducts First Ever Tourist Survey- and asked the question about Songkhla here – Why Is The Tourism Authority Of Thailand Promoting Songkhla?.

So what happens?  A storm hits, big waves, and flash flood warnings for the South of Thailand, including Songkhla.  I posted an update about the flash floods yesterday, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand has remained silent since 27 December.

That is the latest update from the Tourism Authority of Thailand at their TATNews web site.  The Tourism Authority of Thailand refers to it as a seasonal storm.

As these conditions are caused by a storm that is passing through the area, the Thai Meteorological Department expects these conditions to only last for a few days.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand the Thai Meteorological Department get it wrong again.

And, what about the brilliant new web site that the Tourism Authority of Thailand established when Bangkok was inundated to provide up-to-date information for tourists?  You know, the ThailandTourismUpdate.  The site with the multiple RSS feeds has the same out-of-date information as the TATnews site.  If you click on the Tourism Authority of Thailand Flood Situation map, you will see that the Southern area is Green.

Again, the Tourism Authority of Thailand gives out incorrect information at the expense of the poor foreign tourists now stuck in Songkhla.

The almost English online news media have better information than the Tourism Authority of Thailand, but it is usually after the fact.

The Nation reports, Flash floods hit 3 provinces in the South and the Bangkok Post, Heavy rain, flash floods hit South.  Credit the Bangkok Post for publishing a warning yesterday – Warning of heavy rain in the south

Songkhla, Yala and Nakhon Si Thammarat in the South have been heavily inundated by flash flooding after days of heavy rain, while the cold is hitting the North and the Northeast.

Guess that only Bangkok and Ayutthaya matter to the Tourism Authority of  Thailand.

Disaster status – signified by red flags – has been announced in Hat Yai, the business area of Songkhla. Car owners have begun to park their cars on elevated roads or high ground – similar to the practice seen in central provinces and Bangkok during the flood peak between mid-October to early November.

It’s deja vu all over again – but – since it is the “troubled” south, no one cares.

Elsewhere in Songkhla, two key roads leading to a border crossing in Sadao district with Malaysia have been impassable due to inundation. Relief assistance has been provided in eight flooded districts. Songkhla has a total of 16 districts. The seven other districts are Sadao, Chana, Muang, Na Thawee, Na Mom, Saba Yoi and Khlong Hoi Khong.

Is there some sort of curse on the Tourism Authority of Thailand.  Days after providing input to its boss, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Songkhla is hit by a storm causing flash floods and evacuations.

Songkhla was also written up for two straight days in The Nation (same article with slightly modified headlines) – Security high as tourists flock to Hat Yai for New Year Countdown.  This was written like it was THE place to go on New Year’s Eve claiming that more than 12,000 rooms were booked for the holiday.

Hat Yai and Sadao have been hardest hit by the flooding with a section of Kanchanawanit road in Ban Luk Thung under one metre of water.

Hat Yai in Songkhla Province.  Thanks Tourism Authority of Thailand for ranking it in the top ten.

Many tourists from Malaysia and Singapore who celebrated the New Year in Hat Yai have been left stranded in hotels because they cannot use the road to Sadao, which borders northern Malaysia.

With no updates on floods from the Tourism Authority of Thailand since 27 December, I would think that these tourists have a case that would stand up in court for gross negligence on the part of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

UPDATE 3 Jan 2012 – Here are photos of the flooding in Songkhla and the rest of Southern Thailand courtesy of The Nation.  Will the Tourism Authority of Thailand continue to rank Songkhla as a top ten Thailand destination?

The text was modified to remove a broken link to http://www.tatnews.org/situation_update/5788.asp.

Tags: flash floods floods inundated Ministry of Tourism and Sports songkhla tourism authority of thailand