Avoid large crowds and public demonstrations, is the advice issued by the British Foreign Office to British tourists thinking of travelling to Thailand.

The on-going political crisis, exacerbated in the run-up to the general election on April 2 which has seen Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra facing increasing pressure to step down, has been blamed for this.

"Due to the ongoing crisis the country's tourism industry has been affected," said TAT Governor Juthamas Siriwan.

"Many tourists have dropped plans to visit. I hope to see growth if the current political crisis does not prolong."

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has revealed statics showing a large number of cancellations from tourists, with more than 60,000 from China and Singapore having cancelled planned trips to Thailand.

On 9 March 2006, a small explosive device went off in the Dusit area of Bangkok and caused minor injuries to passers by, while the murder of British tourist Katherine Horton has also cast a dark cloud over the safety of travelling to Thailand.

Despite this, outside of major war zones, a recent UN survey puts Thailand avoids the top ten hot-spots to avoid and recent statistics issued by the Thailand Tourism authority show that the number of tourist arrivals from other countries has significantly increased and at a fast pace.

In the South of Thailand the threat of real violence and serious unrest continues, and on March 22, according to the Bangkok Post, a major explosion was averted after bomb disposal experts defused a 15kg fertiliser bomb planted at a food shop in the Muang district of Pattani.