14 September 2012
Page 3
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flooding fears to boost hua hin?
hua hin, THAILAND With the images of Bangkok and the northern provinces being ravaged by deadly flood waters still fresh from last year, the latest flooding taking place in Sukhothai, where large areas are under one and a half metres of water, and other northern areas, combined with the widely reported failure of the drainage test carried out in Bangkok, is leaving large sections of the Thai population with little confidence that this year will not be a repeat. This is starting to show in the Hua Hin area, not that there appears to be any risk of anything other than occasional minor flooding here despite the heavy rains this year, but in the apparently increased numbers of Thai people arriving from the capital. There are no statistics covering this, but anecdotal evidence suggests more traffic and higher occupancy of the many condominium blocks that are largely owned by Bangkok Thais. Some businesses are also reporting increased trade from non-local Thais. Clearly, after last year when repeated assurances that the capital would not flood proved disastrously wrong, there is a feeling that it is better to be safe than sorry, and if this really is borne out with larger numbers of Thais visiting and staying in this area, it should in most cases be a benefit to the town and businesses here. Even though Thai ‘tourists’ generally have less money to spend than their foreign counterparts, there is still a great opportunity for canny businesses to take advantage of, and the town could experience a welcome early surge before the high season. While it has to be hoped that the politicians and experts are correct in their assertions that there will not be flooding this year on anything like the scale of last, it is not wrong to hope that Hua Hin will benefit from doubting residents.
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