At least four people have been killed and dozens injured.
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Bomb blasts hit Hua Hin last night and killed one person and wounded seven foreigners and 13 Thais, while bombs also hit Trang province on Thursday, injuring five. The industry had been expecting a 10% jump in worldwide arrivals this year for a record 33 million visitors. The British Foreign Office issued guidance asking Britons to “exercise extreme caution, avoid public places and follow the advice of local authorities”.
This morning, two more bombs exploded in Hua Hin, killing one person and wounding four, police said.
Two motorbikes are believed to have been involved in the blasts – which have left some of those injured in critical condition in a market area of the resort.
It was not clear who was behind the attacks.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged for calm after the attacks.
“Why has it happened now when the country is improving”. Who does not want the good things happening in Thailand?
“I have seen three coups, fighting on the streets, blasts and bombs, shootings at temples, I have seen a lot of violence in Thailand and political turmoil so nothing surprises me”, he said on Friday.
Col Krisana Patanacharoen of the Royal Thai Police said it was too soon say who was behind the attacks but “we are sure that it is not linked to terrorism”. Southern Thailand has been gripped for more than a decade by a low-level Muslim insurgency, but the insurgents rarely operate outside their deep-south strongholds.
He told the ABC in Australia that he was in Hua Hin when the first explosion was heard.
In that incident, one woman working at a food vending cart in front of the bar was killed and at least 11 people – mostly foreign visitors – were injured.
Thursday’s bombs were set off by remote control, half an hour apart, according to General Sithichai Srisopacharoenrath, the police superintendent in Hua Hin, and his deputy, Lt Gen Samer Yousamran. The second blast caused the death and injuries.
One Facebook user wrote: “Bombs have gone off in Hua Hin but we are all safe and well”. The blast damaged a pair of phone booths and shattered the window of a nearby Starbucks.
Reporter Mark White said: “This twin bombing, if it turns out to be that, may be linked to an insurgency in the south of Thailand”.
This story has been corrected to show that the Phuket blast was at Loma Beach, not Patong, and that three people, not four, were wounded in Friday explosions in Hua Hin. “People don’t want to look each other in the eyes”, she said.
But the choice of Hua Hin as a major target is also symbolic, the BBC’s correspondent says, being known as a royal city and the king’s favoured residence outside Bangkok. “We should not make people panic more”.
The ousting of Mr Thaksin set off sometimes bloody battles for power between his supporters and opponents, who include the military.
Thailand’s economy has struggled since a 2014 military coup; investors grew wary and have stayed away, but tourists came back, even after last year’s shrine bombing.
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Opponents of the military-drafted constitution argue that it is laced with undemocratic principles and was created to keep the military in power for five more years. Today is also a national holiday in Thailand, marking the Thai queen’s birthday.
