Thailand holiday dilema

lovesgshp

As others have said, it is a large country and the chances of being attacked are not that high, unless they do something completely stupid.
Son has lived in Phuket since prior to the 2004 Tsunami and he is quite happy!! Wife and I have been there numerous times as well to different areas. You do not say where they are visiting, but I am sure they will have a great time.

littlereddevil

They will never be able to travel anywhere then.

Doshwaster

I have been to Thailand about 10 times and have never had any problems. Thailand is a very safe country and it you do see any bother it is usually caused by drunk tourists - which can happen wherever you go. The locals are usually no trouble at all as they realise how important the tourist trade is and know how tough the Thai police are.

The most dangerous events are the beach parties where you get hundreds of very drunk young people in the same place. Personally, I wouldn't go anywhere near them.

If you daughter and her BF are sensible then I'm sure they will just have a brilliant time and will want to go back regularly. No matter where you go in the world you should never leave your common sense at home.

Pollycat

Are your daughter & boyfriend actually planning to stay on Koh Tao?
If not, I think cancelling the holiday is a little OTT.
I personally don't think that it should be a 'given' that you can cancel and get a full refund because there has been a murder somewhere in a country that you plan to visit.

You need to consider the geography of the country before deciding that visiting all areas are unsafe.

As NiftyDigits has said, would you consider cancelling a trip to New Orleans because there has been a murder in New York?

It's a pity that the anticipation of their holiday may have been marred by this tragic incident, but that's how it goes.

Keep an eye on this, if there is any doubt, FO will advice against travel and then you can cancel:
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand

Heliflyguy

doshwaster wrote: »

thailand is a very safe country

lol.......

andrewf75

As others have siad Thailand is a very safe country. Probably safer than the UK. We don't know what this couple were involved in and their killer may even be a Brit. So its completely irrational to not go there because of isolated incidents. As others have said plenty of incidents happen in the UK, does that mean you don't leave the house?

Your daughter is no more at risk going to Thailand as going for a night out in your home town.

Doshwaster

Heliflyguy wrote: »

lol.......

Care to explain your hilarity?

duchy

If both your daughter AND her boyfriend reacted by feeling scared -rather than one having doubts and the other backing them then you have to wonder if they are both very timid ....or just not very well travelled.

Where have they travelled on holiday before ? Blackpool, Spain ? Portugal ? Murders happen everywhere - just like they happen in your home area. If this is their first solo holiday and one or other of them isn't just trying to make an excuse not to go by pretending it is dangerous then perhaps encouraging them to research Thailand more - perhaps by reading travel blogs -there's a million of them out there as its such a popular destination for gap years as well as holidays. The more research they do the more confident they will feel.

To put it in context look at this http://www.ukcrimestats.com/Constituency/66014 and note the number of violent crimes monthly in this "very dangerous" area of the world.

Heliflyguy

Doshwaster wrote: »

Care to explain your hilarity?

Not in as much detail as I care too but how can you describe any country as very safe unless your comparing it to current Syria for instance.

As for another poster saying its probably safer than the UK, how, not as far as traffic accidents are concerned or that the fact this made the UK news means not much goes on there, should read the local press and expat sites more.

Its foolhardy to describe it as very safe, keep your head down and dont upset the locals, be smart and you will be fine.

As for the locals not causing trouble and the Thai police being tough have to add another lol.

I respect you knowledge of holiday destinations in Thailand but having been there almost 10 times on holiday doesn't really give you the heads up on what it is really like.

andrewf75

It isn't foolhardy to call it very safe. Many travel experts such as Lonely Planet will say exactly that.

Yes I'm sure the traffic accidents are worse than in the UK, but the UK has a major drinking culture which creates other risks.

It depends partly on your definition of safe, but overall its one of the safer travel destinations.