Taxis not martial law upset tourists

BANGKOK Bangkok University Research Centre says 70% of foreign tourists, who participated in a recent survey, said martial law made no impact on their decision to visit Thailand.
Released last week, the Bangkok Poll surveyed 1,044 foreign tourists about their Thailand. It was based on a questionnaire, 7 to 9 November, at Suvarnabhumi Airport’s departure terminal.
The poll said 72.9% of those interviewed were leisure travellers, 21.6% business visitors and 5.5% in Thailand for meetings or visiting friends or relatives.
Inside no.3Also, 20.7% of surveyed tourists said they wanted to experience Thai culture, tradition and arts, while 17.6% were interested in sea and beaches and 16.1% were in the country for shopping.
Asked if martial law in Thailand influenced their decision to visit the country, 70.1% said it had not and 29.9% said it was a factor they considered. However, all those interviewed were already on holiday in Thailand, which would skew the results.
Out of those who were concerned, 11.6% said it caused them to worry, while 11.3% admitted the measure made them look at other options.
The poll also reported that 86.1% said Thailand was safe for tourists and only 2.4% felt it was dangerous.
Regarding what Thailand should urgently improve, 22.3% said taxi drivers were overcharging tourists, they refused to use meters and also took long detours when they were told to use a meter. Another 15.7% pointed to traffic congestion and 12.7% thought poor English communications was a major drawback when compared with other countries in Southeast Asia. According to 8.7% of those surveyed the country should have road signs at tourist attractions in English and 8.1% said the footpaths should be off-limits to motorised transport including motor cycles and police officers needed to seriously improve law enforcement.

sourced:ttrweekly.com