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| • EXCH RATES |
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Baht/$ 33.51/56
Bid/Ask
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GOLD |
14,350
+ 350
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CHATRUDEE THEPARAT
Investors are threatening to suspend or cancel tourism projects if the government does not address anti-government protests and address political instability.
''I don't think there would be any investors who are willing to invest in tourism projects such as Royal Coast or other tourism development projects if the leader of the administration fails to create a investment climate,'' said Apichart Sankary, the president to the Association of Thai Travel Agents. ''The government needs to try harder to make peace and restore investors' confidence.
''Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej should send a message to the public in a peaceful and compromising manner, instead of stirring up more [discontent].''
Mr Apichart said that new tourism development projects would be stalled for at least seven months because of political instability and continued rising oil prices.
''The ongoing anti-government demonstrations will affect the Thai tourism industry in the long term, even though there has been no violence yet ... news of the unrest has already undermined tourists' confidence in safety,'' he said.
He said more visitors might cancel their trips to Thailand and head to other countries if the problems drag on.
According to Mr Apichart, some groups of Malaysian and Singaporean tourists had already cancelled their trips while Japanese and European groups were monitoring the situation.
This year should have been a banner year for Thai tourism, he said, as the first five months showed signs of improvement. The number of visitors from Russia and Scandinavia had increased by 4%, which could help offset fewer Asian arrivals, which are more sensitive to personal safety.
Mr Apichart shrugged off mounting concerns about surging oil prices, saying that other countries had shared the same effects. Visitors, especially from Europe, could still afford their trips as long as costs increased by no more than 10%, in his view.
Thailand remains a better choice for tourism because it has many attractive locations, he said. Even though travel costs would be higher, many visitors said that food and lodging was still reasonably priced.
''The government has designated 2008-09 as the year of tourism and investment in the tourism industry. I don't think any investor dares invest in a tourism project if the leader and his administration fail to create a good climate for investment,'' he said.
Anake Srishevachart, president of the Thai-Japan Tourist Association, said high oil prices would indeed take a toll on visitors, especially on long-haul routes such as Europe.
In some cases, the cost of flying has almost doubled because of huge airline fuel surcharges. The industry thus needed to adjust its strategy to focus more on short-haul travellers, he said.
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