UK Advises Afghanistan and Iraq Are Safer Than Phuket

Posted: 02 May 2010 | 11:51 am

According to the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office(FCO) both Afghanistan and Iraq have less restrictions on travel advice than all of Thailand including the resort island of Phuket.

The current advisory by the FCO states that "we advise against all but essential travel to Thailand, ' whereas some of the most dangerous countries on earth including Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo and the Central African Republic are taken down a notch to "we advise against all but essential travel to parts of.'

So in a nutshell if you are planning on taking a holiday to sunny Phuket, Koh Samui, Hua Hin, Pattaya or one of the other countless resort destinations in Thailand the FCO advises against this. But if you are of course, planning some fun in the sun to certain areas in Iraq or perhaps that dream trekking holiday in again select areas in Afghanistan, go right ahead.

Viewing other countries which Thailand has been lumped together with include Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, and Yemen.

Despite continued demonstration's and cases of violence in the nation's capital, the remaining 98% of the country have remained safe and secure for travelers and Thai's alike. The level of media induced hysteria and resulting knee jerk reaction by foreign governments who have created what is in effect a blank condemnation of the countries tourism industry is illogical, economically debilitating and irresponsible.

Generalizing or commoditizing the woes of the current situation do nothing but harm the country. For the vast majority on the island of Phuket the current events seem surrealistic when traveling the roads, visiting beaches and going into public places. Safety and security are serious matters, but the state of travel warning and advisories which have hit far too close to home should and be addressed and revised to reflect the true risk for those who venture to Thailand's resorts.

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