Curfew in Thailand's tourist hotspots may be lifted

Bangkok, May 28 (IANS) The Thai military junta is considering lifting curfew in some tourism hotspots like Phuket and Pattaya to avoid inconvenience for tourists and the business sector.

The night curfew may be lifted in localities where there are no protests or anti-coup movements, Xinhua reported, citing the Bangkok Post which quoted Nathawat Chancharoen, deputy spokesman of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), on Wednesday.

Nathawat said the NCPO will dispatch teams to various tourist destinations to assess the situation, and the decision on curfew lifting is expected to be concluded next week.

A recent report by the tourism and sports ministry showed that although the number of foreign tourists dropped after the imposition of martial law, those who had already arrived, including some 4,000 Chinese tourists in Pattaya, had not rushed to return to their country as advised by their government, the Bangkok Post said.

The NCPO earlier Tuesday reduced the curfew period nationwide to four hours from the current seven hours.