Thailand curfew lifted for holiday resort areas of Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya

AUSSIES heading to Thailand should still exercise caution despite the military junta lifting a curfew at three beach resorts.

Tourists no longer need to worry about a night-time curfew in the popular resort island o

AUSTRALIANS heading to Thailand should still exercise a “high degree” of caution despite the military junta lifting a curfew at three beach resorts.

On Tuesday Thailand the junta lifted a curfew at three of the country’s most popular tourist destinations - Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya.

Updated travel advice from the federal government’s Smartraveller website says Australians still needed to exercise a “high degree” of caution.

“The security situation remains volatile,” the advice says.

“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Thailand due to the possibility of civil unrest.”

Australian tourists should stay clear of any public demonstrations also and monitor social media, it said.

Explaining its decision to lift the curfew at the resorts, the junta said it wanted to promote tourism and relieve the impact in peaceful areas.

The curfew was initially introduced nationwide from 10pm until 5am, but drew complaints from the country’s tourism industry, which accounts for about 7 per cent of Thailand’s economy.

Figures from accommodation booking website trivago.com.au showed a more than 30 per cent drop in Australian interest in Thailand holidays in the week after the coup.

While more than 50 countries have issued travel alerts since the coup, many tourists have tweeted pictures from the country’s resorts showing peaceful, unaffected beach paradises.

- With staff writers