Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing, well we are discussing travel news here in Thailand, specifically tourism here in Thailand. Let me just dig into it. I first thought of making this video after I recently read an article in the Thai Examiner, that is thaiexaminer.com, the article is titled: Tourist Authority offers help to FTI tourists left stranded in Thailand after tour firm collapse in Germany. Quoting directly: "Thai Hotels and tourism firms were shocked by the June 3rd collapse of German travel giant FTI, responsible for 100,000 bookings last year. Amid reports of holiday makers refusing payment demands, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is assisting stranded tourists." Quoting further: "Thai hotels and tourism concerns received a received a jolt this month with the June 3rd collapse of German travel giant FTI. The firm was responsible for 100,000 bookings in Thailand in the last year. An initial tally revealed that at least B111 million in losses based on credit already extended to holiday makers who booked with the firm to vacation in Thailand. Amid reports of some holiday makers refusing payment demands from hotels both on check out and check-in, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) this week moved to assist any foreign tourists who are presently facing difficulty because of the collapse." 

Yeah this is an unfortunate situation. One thing, just an aside, especially for folks who have been to Thailand before, maybe not newcomers; if you are coming here for the first time, I can kind of understand wanting to use a travel booking site or something of this nature, but honestly if you have been here before, I have honestly found just across the board, it is better to deal as directly as possible with whatever vendor you are dealing with. Now that said, I am not trying to throw under the bus the websites and the firms out there that basically facilitate these type of arrangements and I do understand how Westerners are very used to dealing with especially online platforms, when making travel decisions. But honestly again especially if you've been to Thailand before, you are probably better off dealing directly with for example the hotels you may be using or even if you have a Thai Travel Agent that you are used to dealing with, go to somebody direct. There's a lot of them still around; travel agents are still a thing here in Thailand. You can even walk into their office, sit down and talk to them.

At the end of the day though, yeah this major firm collapse could have tremendous ramifications, looks like it is having tremendous ramifications for the Thai travel sector. Fortunately it looks likes TAT is taking the initiative to try and ameliorate this as best as possible and we'll certainly keep you updated on their progress as the situation evolves.