As per Thailand Authority of Tourism and other major Thai Newspapers, Thailand is almost back to normal now. Everything is functioning as normal and there are no more incidents of violence or protests.

Though the Emergency State is still exercised, but only to ensure complete caution & safety.

For complete information you can read through this post as to latest developments in Tourism in Thailand after the Crisis.

Latest Thailand Situation Update and News – July 2010

Thailand is recovering, and recovering really fast. The civil unrest and violence has settled down completely. The Thai government is doing a commendable job in not just trying to bring things back to normal but giving it the much needed boost. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the entire Thai tourism industry have rolled out a range of promotions, strategies, activities, and projects to help revive visitor arrivals which were affected by the recent political turmoil.

In its ongoing drive to restore confidence in Bangkok following the deadly May protests, the Tourism Authority of Thailand had launched a massive weekend celebration dubbed “Smile at Ratchaprasong” between 2-4^th July in the area that was most hit.

Thailand’s prime minister said he believes a state of emergency will be lifted in many areas of the country soon.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his cabinet will resolve the controversial issue on Tuesday.

The Royal Thai Government has extended a range of measures to promote tourism, including a waiver of tourist visa fees until 31 March, 2011.

Keep reading…

*Travelers are warned to still practice extreme caution and safety, till the emergency is over.

So you have 10 prospects for potential travel buddy. GREAT! But it’s comparatively much easier to ‘locate’ a travel buddy as opposed to deciding if he or she is the right one. After all it’s a question about the something you have been looking forward to eagerly and have spent time and resources in – surely don’t want to spoil it.

So how to do you ensure who is the right one?

1. Start with email- IM chat, if cool then proceed to phone /web cam conversation. If that works out, see if it is possible to meet at least once.

2. Sounds snobbish, but it’s always preferable to ask for current pictures of the person and a profile (age, work, family, likes, dislikes etc etc) – You don’t want to feel all uncomfortable and startled (out of happiness or disappointment, whatever the case).

3. Do the ‘Search’ – Yes please, Googling would help. You might find out things you would never expect to otherwise. Will help tremendously in creating an image of the person and thus coming to a conclusion.

4. Invite him / her to connect on a social network – those status updates are not just for fun, they tell you a lot about the person plus you can find out the kind of people he/she hangs out with.

5. Talk about travel related stuff, your travel plans at length. If most of it sounds agreeable to both, you’ll have a much happier trip. This will also erase out the do’s and don’ts of the trip.

6. Gut feeling - listen to what your gut says. It’s often right.

Simple enough? what problems do you face?

If you are looking for a travel buddy on TravelDaddy site, you could take on these few things to make sure your travel buddy is not really far away!

1. Make sure you have created a trip after logging in. Simply mentioning your travel plans in the Bio would not be that helpful as people looking for travel buddies might not be able to go and search on every single profile.

2. You need to get noticed! Be active on the community- write reviews, share tips. Search for prospective buddies and don’t hesitate to contact them. If people see you around they are bound to go to your profile and find out how interesting you are & might want to share the same travel plans.

3. Have an updated and interesting profile, the rate of interest for a person rises tremendously on reading a detailed bio – might just triple your buddy requests.

4. Search wisely – Put flexible dates, try multiple options for cities and countries.

Till Soon – Happy Searching!

(Got any more ideas? Share it with us)

It is advisable not to exhibit your home, work or school address or phone number in your profile. You are only expected to enter the required information and may choose to enter general information about your personal preferences.

Do not believe in everything a person says to you over internet. Please use your own judgment in sharing any and all information with people you meet on social networking websites.

Construct your own quick check procedure while interacting with other users. There are several pointers which could help like Browse through a user’s friend list, see if there are other people with whom they are connecting, verify the facts given in the profile with the ones given to you directly by the user etc.

Personal meetings and planned trips as buddies should be thoroughly planned and well thought-out before occurring. Practice extreme caution meeting someone you have met online.

If you witness any activity that is offensive or dangerous occurring on any social community site, please report the activity and user name to the administrator at the earliest to keep our internet community as safe as possible.

For more details on the Safety Guidelines click here

Here’s our schedule at a glance.

• March 6-7, 2010 : Washington, DC
  Travel & Adventure Show DC at the Washington Convention Center
• March 10-14, 2010 : Berlin, Germany
  ITB Berlin at the fairgrounds of Messe Berlin
• March 20-21, 2010 : Chicago, IL
  Chicago Tribune Travel & Adventure Show at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL

Hope to See You There!

[don't forget to log on the site to check out TravelDaddy's twitter campaign in TradeShow's & Win free GPS & Giveaways!]

The home page has lot more information now; it is much easier to keep track of new members joining the community, new trips being created, new reviews and tips. Travel buddy and hotel search is right there without having to search and navigate through the site.

Updates on the personal profile page is the most happening section because you can see the various activities of your friends there, comment on their pictures, new trips, reviews etc without having to go to different areas on the site.

Getting information about the destination/ hotel/attraction of your choice was never as easy, become a fan and you will get the promotions/ news of the places of your interest in the updates right there for you.

When you plan a trip you can not only search for a travel buddy on the site but also look for a suitable hotel within your budget and depending on the availability book it there itself.

You can become a travel partner with TravelDaddy by registering and you will be able to promote your business through the site by adding news and promotions of the product or service you are offering.

Over all we have tried to make it more friendly and easy to navigate and at the same time add value. We are always looking at ways to improve ourselves further so please send us your feedback and suggestions at daddy@traveldaddy.com.

Now you can catch us EVERYWHERE!

February Schedule -

February 13-14, 2010 : Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center
Visit us at booths #1317 and #1319

February 19-21, 2010 : Boston, MA
Boston Globe Travel Show at the Seaport World Trade Center

February 26-28, 2010 : New York, NY
New York Times Travel Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Visit us at booths #130 and #132

Don’t miss the fun and prizes provided by the TravelDaddy Team!

Stay tuned for more show updates, including our March 2010 schedule.

TravelDaddy wishes all our lovely members, stakeholders and visitors warm seasons greetings! We hope it brings as much joy and happiness in your lives as it is currently in TD camp with continuous upgrades and increasing hits on the site. We are happy to inform that the member base is growing at a rapid pace, with more activities then ever.

In the New Year we’ll bring to you many features that will make your travel journey more convenient and exciting!

Till then Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

See you NEXT year.