IPOH, MALAYSIA: Thailand has lined up a list of events to lure tourists back to the country after its recent problems with anti-government protesters and stranded visitors.
Tourism Authority of Thailand director (Malaysia and Brunei) Wiwatchai Boonyapak said among the activities was its New Year countdown celebrations at Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.
"We will also have our Flower Festival in Chiang Mai in the first weekend of February and our Thai New Year in April," he told reporters here on Saturday.
Wiwatchai urged tourists to explore other parts of Thailand, adding that the country was entering into its Visit Thailand Year.
Apologising to visitors for the inconvenience in recent weeks, he assured that everything had "gone back to normal".
Thousands of visitors had been left stranded last week after protesters laid siege to two airports, forcing them to close.
The Survanabhumi International Airport and the domestic Don Muang Airport in Bangkok were reopened on Wednesday and Thursday.
Wiwatchai acknowledged that the recent turmoil had caused a drop in Malaysian tourist arrivals, but could not yet establish how many had cancelled their trips recently.
To a question, Wiwatchai dismissed worries that the recent turmoil would significantly dent their tourism industry, pointing out that even the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and bird flu scares had only briefly affected the country.
"We see an increase of arrivals to Hadyaai after these periods.
