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Baht/$ 33.49/53
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14,000
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TOURISM
CHATRUDEE THEPARAT
Thailand's meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (Mice) market is expected to be hit harder if anti-government campaigns are prolonged until next month, warn industry executives. Suchada Yuvaboon, an adviser to the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association, said ongoing protests, particularly by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), had prompted some visitors from Asia including Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan to cancel their trips.
Asian visitors are normally more sensitive to political tensions that their peers from the United States and European Union, where protests are frequent.
Mrs Suchada said prolonged protests until July, which is when foreign visitors start making advance bookings for the high season, would scare away Mice visitors, particularly corporate customers.
Surapol Sritrakul, the chairman of Jalpak International (Thailand), said Japanese visitors were highly sensitive to political conflict in the countries they planned to visit. Normally, he said, Japanese visitors plan their travel six months in advance. Therefore, the impact of Thailand's situation on Japanese tourists would be felt by late this year, he said.
Japanese visitors to Thailand totalled 1.24 million last year.
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) expects 947,600 Mice visitors will visit Thailand this year, a rise of 19% over a year earlier.
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