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Thailand’s military authorities have relaxed the current curfew to four hours a night, as the tourism authority claimed visitors can enjoy the country as they normally would.
The curfew hours will be 12am to 4am from Wednesday. Since Thursday, all visitors and citizens had to be indoors between 10pm and 5am after the army announced it had taken control of the country following months of political turmoil.
A spokeswoman for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said: “This is positive news and allows tourists greater flexibility in the evenings once again.”
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office now advise against all but essential travel to the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathaiwat and Songkhla on the Thai-Malaysia border.
It also advises against all travel to the Preah Vihear temple area and the Ta Krabey/Ta Moan temple area near the Thai-Cambodian border “due to the presence of troops in the area and the risk of outbreaks of fighting”.
The new curfew will be in place until further notice, according to the military, operating as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
The curfew is affecting hotels, resorts, spas, restaurants, entertainment venues, cinemas, convention centres, shopping malls, superstores, convenience stores, banks and petrol stations.
On May 22, the Chief of the Royal Thai Army announced that the military had taken control of government.
On its website, the TAT said the changes to the curfew meant “tourists visiting Thailand will have more time to enjoy the kingdom’s wide variety of tourist attractions”.
It said tourist destinations including Ko Samui and Phuket could still be enjoyed as usual.
It added: “Tourists’ travelling schedules are also hardly effected by by either the previous or new curfew time as all airports remain open and the National Council for Peace and Order allows air passengers with arrival and departure flights scheduled during curfew to travel to and from the airports at any time as usual.”