Bangkok  - The Thai government on Thursday changed the venue for the upcoming summit between South-East Asia and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea from the resort island of Phuket to the beach resort of Pattaya.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya confirmed the venue switch for the summit, scheduled for April 11 to 12, at a press conference Thursday.

Thailand chairs the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) throughout 2009, and hosted this year's ASEAN summit in Cha-am beach resort, 130 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, on February 28 to March 1.

The government had originally planned to host a follow-up ASEAN+Six (ASEAN leaders plus those of the group's six main regional partners) on Phuket Island, a popular beach resort 600 kilometres south of Bangkok.

Phuket was chosen in order to promote tourism in the southern province, a stronghold for the Democrat Party which is leading the current government, but the venue had to be dropped when the resort's hoteliers complained that they were already suffering from overbookings in April.

Thailand's traditional New Year, Songkhran, starts on April 13. Phuket is a popular destination for wealthy Thais seeking to enjoy the five-day holiday including the 11-12 weekend.

"Pattaya is more in need of a boost," said Thani Thingpakdi, deputy spokesman for the foreign ministry.

The likely summit venue at Pattaya, 90 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, will be the Royal Cliff Resort, which has a massive convention centre, Thani said.

Pattaya is somewhat notorious for its sleazy nighttime entertainment, featuring thousands of bars, massage parlours and blatant availability of sex workers.

The Thai government has overlooked Bangkok, the capital, as an obvious choice for the summit because of security concerns, government sources said.

Thailand was originally scheduled to host the ASEAN summit and ASEAN+6 summit in mid-December, 2008, but had to cancel the event because of anti-government protests in Bangkok that culminated in the seizure and closure of the capital's two international airports that month.

The country is now under a new government led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who heads the Democrat Party, which is now the target of protests by the so-called "Red Shirts," or followers of the ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire businessman who was prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006 before being toppled by a coup.

Thaksin, who has lived in self-exile since August, 2008, remains a thorn in the thigh of the current government which he claims seized power undemocratically.

Thaksin was convicted of an abuse of power charge in October last year and sentenced to two years in prison. (dpa)