Summit collapse to cost B200bn

TOURISM

>>The collapse of the Asean summit meeting yesterday is expected to cause 200 billion baht of damage to the country's tourism sector, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand. The degree of damage is no less than than what the airport seizure by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) caused late last year, said Kongkrit Hiranyakij, the council president.

He said the incident was bound to impact negatively on tourism not only in Pattaya, but countrywide, because it indicates the Thai government's failure to implement efficient security measures to protect foreign leaders.

Mr Kongkrit said the 10 Asean countries and the other six nations _ China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand _ participating at the summit account for 60% of the tourists travelling to Thailand annually, or around 8.5 million people.

He said the airport seizure by the PAD late last year caused a damage of 120 billion baht to the tourism industry. With the lingering impact of the airport seizure together with the red-shirt protest in Pattaya, the tourism sector stood to earn up to 200 billion baht less this year, or 30% to 40% lower than last year.

Apichart Sankary, the president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said inbound tourist numbers could fall below 10 million arrivals this year, well below an original target of 14 million.

He warned that up to 200,000 jobs could be lost this year due to the global economic downturn and the negative image of the country presented abroad.

''Right now, regardless of who wins or loses, the country is in ashes,'' Mr Apichart said.

For executives in the image-sensitive tourism sector, the political infighting that has consumed Thai society in recent years is simply self-destructive, with no winners expected.

Sidivachr Cheewarattanaporn, the president of the Thai-China Tourism Association, said the country's image as a safe destination may have been irreparably damaged.

''I don't understand it. The government knew that the red-shirts were intent on disrupting the summit. Why couldn't they plan ahead of it?'' he asked angrily.

''Chinese tourists are now asking to go home early. I've been answering the phone from Chinese tours all day.''

While the immediate losses might not be seen this month, as most bookings have already been paid for, Mr Sidivachr warned that group tours would likely drop sharply starting in May.

Chatchawal Supachayanont, the president of the eastern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, also expressed frustration that the Abhisit government had been unable to withstand the protesters.

''I think the government needs to explain why their security measures had failed so badly,'' he said.

''I'm afraid we could see 50% cancellations for bookings over the Songkran holidays. Right now, I don't think we have any face left in the eyes of the world market.''

Mr Chatchawal, also the general manager of the Dusit Thani Pattaya, one of the luxury hotels used by the summit attendees, said many foreign guests had been disturbed by the events.

Supawan Teerarat, the acting president of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, predicted that business visits could drop by more than 15% this year from the 650,000 arrivals last year.

''We had hoped to maintain last year's figures. But now, I'm afraid we will see a drop off,'' she said.