Boat services popular for foreign tourists visiting Grand Palace
MANY of the tour groups visiting Thailand this month have reportedly used boat services to visit the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), as 82,154 tourists arrived at these landmarks over the first 10 days of November, according to the Department of Tourism.
The DOT report said these groups also visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) along the way.
Wanasiri Morakul, director-general of the DOT, said that according to the statistics collected by the Bureau of the Royal Household, since the two main destinations were reopened to tourists, 75-85 per cent of visitors were with guided tour groups from China. Most of the rest were independent travellers from Europe or North America.
To render services to tourists during this busy time in Bangkok, four service points were set up. The first was in front of the Grand Palace’s Viset Chaisri Gate; the second in front of Siam Rath newspaper headquarters on Rajdamnoen Avenue; the third at Tha Chang Pier; and the fourth at Tha Maharaj Pier.
There are four public-relations points at tourist drop-off locations – in front of Viset Chaisri Gate, at Tha Chang Pier, at Tha Maharaj Pier, and at Chang Rongsi Bridge.
Three automated information kiosks have been installed at Tha Chang Pier, in front of Siam Rath headquarters, and in front of Viset Chaisri Gate.
Viset Chaisri Gate
The main Tourist Police service point (white police box) in front of Viset Chaisri Gate is ready with police officers, DOT officials, and volunteer interpreters in English, Mandarin and other languages. They provide tourist information including news updates, directions to entrances and exits, walking routes, opening hours, and lost-and-found services.
At the tour-bus drop-off point in front of Royal Rattanakosin Hotel near Chang Rongsi Bridge, a squad of traffic police, officials from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, and Bangkok police are there throughout the day to regulate the bus traffic.
At Tha Chang and Tha Maharaj piers, service points have been set up to assist tourists visiting Bangkok Old Town via boat routes, manned by officials from the DOT, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Marine Department.
Some tour groups have reportedly switched from bus to boat when travelling to Bangkok Old Town as the two piers are in the vicinity of the Grand Palace, whereas the tour-bus drop-off point in front of Royal Rattanakosin Hotel is quite far away.
Westerners were the first to recognise the advantage of using the boats, followed by tour groups from China, who, after visiting the Grand Palace, take the boat at Tha Chang Pier and continue on to other points of interest in Bangkok.
Wanasiri said there have been reports about shady activities by some street merchants around Royal Rattanakosin Hotel. Some are reported to have taken advantage of tourists by forcibly putting merchandise into tourists’ hands without permission.
She said the DOT had coordinated with the Tourist Police Division and Bangkok City Police, and street merchants now were allowed to set up stalls only in designated areas.
Tourism associations and tour guides have also been asked to warn tourists not to purchase unlicensed photos of the Royal Family sold on the streets. Tourists have also been advised not to break away from their groups to take photos or buy drinking water or food at service tents.
The department has urged tour agencies and other tourism-related businesses to communicate with their foreign clients about the actual situations in Thailand, urge them to dress appropriately during this time, and inform them about tightened security measures. So far foreign visitors have cooperated well, it said.
Management of queues at the Grand Palace has also been orderly. The Grand Palace can now welcome more tourists without disturbing the long lines of Thais waiting to pay respects to His Majesty the King lying in state in the palace.
