Thailand's Princess Bejarkitiva had a heart attack about a week and a half ago, and her doctors had to connect her to an Acmo machine, after her lungs, kidneys and heart collapsed.
As published in "Israel Hayom", this caused concern among many Israelis who planned to fly to Thailand, which is now at the height of the tourist season.
Officials in Thailand emphasized today (Wednesday) to "Israel Hayom" that these concerns are unfounded, and there is no fear of damage to tourism in the country, in any scenario that may happen in the coming weeks in the kingdom.
The fear among many Israelis is that if, God forbid, the death of the princess is announced, this will cause an official announcement of days of mourning in the kingdom, which could disrupt the tourism industry.
Monks pray for the princess in Thailand, photo: Reuters
The first secretary at the Thai Embassy in Israel, Yanisa Chokotborn-Geffen, told "Israel Hayom": "There is no reason to worry. Tourists from all over the world and from Israel continue to fly to Thailand even these days."
On December 14, the 44-year-old princess went to train dogs at an event of the Thai army.
She collapsed during training, and according to eyewitnesses, CPR was performed on her in the field.
She was then admitted to a hospital in the capital, Bangkok.
A revered figure in Thailand.
The princess in Jarkitieva, 2020, photo: Reuters
Opposition elements in Thailand (those opposed to the royal palace) spread rumors on social media last week, according to which Princess Bejarkitiva is actually already dead, and artificially connected to devices.
This, in order to announce her death only on a date that is convenient for the royal family, after the beginning of the new year celebrations.
As mentioned, these are rumors that are not based on concrete information.
The royal house in Thailand issued a statement last week stating that the princess is connected to life support devices, and is in stable condition.
Mass prayers have been held in the kingdom for the last few days for the princess, who is the first daughter of the King of Thailand, Maha and Chiralongkun, Rama X.
The embassy refused to respond directly to the question regarding the assessment of the expected number of days of mourning, and their nature.
It should be noted that even in the world's media, Thai officials do not comment on the theoretical possibility of the princess's death, a topic that is not discussed in the kingdom.
However, Israelis who live in the kingdom and tourists who stayed there at the time of the death of the previous king of Thailand in 2016, say that although 30 days of mourning were announced at the time, the damage to tourism was minor, and in fact was hardly felt.
This time too, it is expected that if the death of the princess is announced, a number of days of mourning will be set, but the vast majority of tourism businesses will operate as usual.
However, there may be damage to Thailand's famous "Full Moon" and "Thousand Moon" parties, and it is also possible that some nightclubs will be closed for several days, as many Thais avoid parties and happy events during the mourning of the royal house, which enjoys great sympathy from the public even today.
Tourism is not expected to be affected.
Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand,
Among tourism officials in Israel and in Thailand, the general assumption is that there is no reason to cancel or postpone a trip to Thailand in the coming weeks, even if a (probably small) number of days of mourning are announced.
Most of the mourning events in the kingdom concern government offices and public companies.
The private sector in Thailand, including the operators of the cruises to the islands and the tourist attractions, is not expected to "slow down", certainly not at the height of the tourist season, certainly not in a year when Thailand managed to recover the income from millions of tourists who did not visit it during the Corona period.
By the way of Corona, despite the outbreak in China in recent days, in Thailand there is currently no change in the entry policy, and visitors do not need to show vaccination certificates or tests of any kind when entering the country.
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