After a couple of seasons where cruise lines shunned Thailand as a turnaround destination because of political instability, the majority of them will resume turnaround cruises to that country next year.

The Managing Director of Regale International Travel, Princess Cruises’ local ground handler in Thailand, says that Diamond Princess has been scheduled for turnaround visits to Thailand next year in October and November. Various other cruise liners have similar plans.

He said that Bangkok is the hub for such cruises due to its direct air access to all parts of the country and the region, but added that over the past couple of years cruise lines were forced to re-route their turnaround cruises to other countries in the area. Bangkok’s international airport was closed for some time at the end of 2008 and in May last year the country experienced renewed rounds of political instability.

Cruise lines nevertheless retained and even increased their visits to Thai ports, which explain the double-digit growth in passenger numbers handled by Regale during last year and the first part of this year.

Cruise turnaround visits hold significant benefits for the ports concerned, since every visit consists of pre-passenger as well as post-passenger boarding with stays of up to three nights in the country. The vast majority of passengers on turnaround cruises to Thailand come from Australia, Europe and the United States.

The announcement will be good news for the Thai tourist industry, who suffered quite badly as a result of the political turmoil in the country.