The number of new bookings to the country has plunged in the last two weeks, a check with seven travel agencies shows.

Also, there has been a rise in the number of cancellations for such trips.

New bookings of trips to Thailand have completely dried up for three of the seven agencies.

Travel giant CTC Holidays used to handle 30 new bookings for trips to Thailand every week. Now there is none.

On top of that, about 80 per cent of their clients, due to travel about this time, have cancelled their bookings.

Another major player, Chan Brothers Travel, has seen new bookings fall by about 90 per cent compared with two weeks ago. About half of the existing bookings were cancelled during this period.

Smaller outfits like Tanglin Shopping Centre's Country Holidays Travel and People's Park Centre's Ace Tours & Travel have similar tales.

The reason: A state of emergency imposed in the capital city of Bangkok on Sept 2 leading customers to be 'concerned about their safety', said travel agents.

The emergency decree, in response to violent clashes between pro and anti-government groups, was lifted on Sunday - 12 days after it was imposed.

During that time, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a travel advisory asking Singaporeans not to travel to Bangkok unless necessary.

Local travellers are not the only ones playing it safe. It is estimated that Thailand has suffered a drop of 30 per cent in tourist arrivals since the political crisis began.

With the lifting of the state of emergency, and unpopular prime minister Samak Sundaravej stepping down as leader of the People's Power Party, travel agents are staying hopeful for the year-end travel season.

'Passengers travelling to Bangkok now are mostly doing so out of necessity, such as for business trips or to visit relatives and friends,' said Ms Alicia Seah, senior vice-president for marketing and public relations at CTC Holidays. 'We are hoping that the leisure market will make a comeback during the coming peak season at the end of the year.'

Industry players have begun responding to the improved political situation.

During the state of emergency, Tiger Airways allowed passengers to change their flight dates or destination without penalty.

Now it's back to business as usual.

However, the MFA has yet to amend its advisory.

In the meantime, trips to Thailand - once among the top holiday destinations for Singaporeans - have been diverted elsewhere.

Said National Association of Travel Agents Singapore chief executive officer Robert Khoo: 'When it comes to new bookings for short-haul flights, holiday-goers can easily make a switch to other regional places like Vietnam or even the Philippines. Many usually make last-minute bookings for these trips anyway.'

One traveller who decided to play it safe and stay home is engineer Matthew Chan, who cancelled his four-day trip to Thailand on Sept 5.

'I was unsure about the situation there and I was going with my girlfriend and I didn't want to put our lives in jeopardy,' said the 26-year-old. 'We can always go there another time.'

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in Singapore has issued a statement to reassure Singaporeans that the anti-government rallies pose no danger to tourists.

Mrs Porntip Makornpan, the director TAT here, explained: 'It is absolutely safe because the protest area is only at a particular place and far away from the tourist area and they don't bother the tourists.'

limjess@sph.com.sg