Political instability. The transformation of the Thai government from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy occurred in 1923. Since then, Thailand has been intermittently ruled by a series of military governments. In 1992, the Thai people rose against the military leadership, which, in turn, severely damaged the Thai economy, including the tourism industry (Chon et al., 1993; Wikipedia, 2007). A democratic system was established and tourism flourished again after that year (Wikipedia, 2007). However, the 2006 political protests by people dissatisfied with the leadership of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawat led to a coup d’e´tat on September 19, 2006 (TAT News Room, 2006b). The military again took control of the country and many international tourists were concerned about the impact of a non-elected government on the country’s major decisions and their own safety. Although Thailand is now ruled by a democratically elected government, political protests still occur, which adds to a feeling of instability and concerns about the possibility of another coup d’e´tat.