Next week sees the start of November and the coming of the relatively cooler, drier season that brings in tourists for some balmy ‘winter sun’.

The south will be busy with Thai beach resorts still a big draw. Buriram has also see a boom in tourism reported on earlier this year here. This is due to a combination of stunning new developments including the race track and more traditional attractions that are becoming more well known worldwide – such as Phanom Rung.

Phanom Rung was used as the backdrop for the majority of scenes in  the “The Scorpion King 3” – 0n Universal channel last night. It’s unlikely that it will remain as anonymous in the future although Thailand has always been a big draw for location filming and I’m sure will continue to be.

Indeed tourism figures for Buriram are showing a 400% increase year on year as of last high season. If that continues then the healthy local economy will continue to thrive.

Of course people are asking if the passing of King Bhumibol of Thailand will affect tourism in this high season. Various commentators have expressed their opinion on this. I think the best test is to put yourself in the position of a potential tourist. Would you decide not to come for this reason? No one can deny the obvious effect on Thai culture and society but its repercussions for the tourism industry remains to be seen.

Having worked in the restaurant business I know that it can be stressful waiting to see what the next high season will bring. There always seems to be a reason why “it’s not going to happen this year”. Invariably the high season has brought large numbers of tourists. It’s the changing demographics and spending habits of these arrivals that is concerning.

It has been very damaging to businesses that only target one subset of tourists. Businesses that can adapt to change are the ones most likely to survive.

The UK pound will surely have an impact on visits from Brits. When the Russian rouble fell after the Ukraine crisis, the number of Russian tourists dropped also. Those numbers have now recovered.

In the high season in Thailand at least you can count on the weather being good. Buriram can even get a little cool in the evenings for a few weeks a year when you may need to wear the thicker of your cotton shirts….. or even a coat!