Bangkok bomb: Expectation of bombers will be that this devastation deters prospective visitors

Ever since Thailand graduated from backpacker haven to mainstream tourist destination in the 1970s, the nation has maintained two very different faces. For many visitors, the country lives up the “Land of Smiles” tag and the promise of carefree holidays from trekking to spa treatments. But a less-appealing dimension is the chronic political turmoil centred on Bangkok and the long-standing insurgency in the deep, troubled south of Thailand.