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The Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) has said that Thailand is 'ready to welcome visitors despite the domestic political problems that have caused trouble in the country.

Almost all tourism facilities and services in Thailand are operating as usual, Pata announced, and protests are limited to the area around Government House in Bangkok, which visitors are advised to avoid.

A state of emergency was declared by Thai prime minister Samak Sundaravej this week but this does not involve any measures restricting the movement of people around Bangkok and was described as a 'temporary measure'.

Pata president and chief executive Peter de Jong said: 'Many of Thailand's prospective visitors are understandably reluctant to travel when they hear about a state of emergency being declared and see images of violent clashes in media reports.

'The reality, however, is that life is continuing as normal in Bangkok and Thailand and that, as of today (3 September), there is minimal threat to the safety of visitors to the kingdom.'

According to Pata, both Bangkok and Phuket airports are operating as normal, Bangkok's taxi and rail services are unaffected by the protests and all hotels, resorts and attractions throughout Thailand are open for business.

The association said it would monitor the situation and inform travellers of any changes.

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