THE United Kingdom has begun its fouryear countdown to Olympics 2012. And its invitation to the world is no empty rhetoric; it will open its doors wide to let as much visitors in. The government said it will ease its visa policy during the Games period, and with this comes special visa processing rates. This is a welcome development to the world, especially after the China experience which dammed overseas market demand because of strict visa policies.
As it is, UK is already one of the world’s most-visited destinations and also enjoys a very high percentage of repeat visitors. The government’s support will definitely spur even more visits during Olympics 2012 and spread joy among visitors and tourism stakeholders alike.
While the situation seems to be moving well in UK, a kingdom in the East is sliding back. Thailand tourism has had its ups and downs. As I write this, the industry is in another one of its down cycles. That it has yet again turned out to be this way is really no surprise to its stakeholders, who even in their much better times have always been inclined to be guided by cautious optimism.
Some said that disruptions to their business had only been very fleeting. Cancellations immediately sprung a few days after the state of emergency was declared but that bookings beyond the one-week time frame had remained firm. There were also parties who said that it would take some time before the market recovered.
Whatever the case, the past experiences have honed their reflexes in how to best react to their circumstances. By now, they would have already learned from the University of Hard Knocks that resiliency is a requirement to continue ploughing on.
