No change in arrivals goal, says ministry

No change in arrivals goal, says ministry

Security has been beefed up at the Suvarnabhubmi airport which is the gateway to welcome foreign tourists to Thailand. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)
Security has been beefed up at the Suvarnabhubmi airport which is the gateway to welcome foreign tourists to Thailand. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)

The Tourism and Sports Ministry is maintaining its tourism target this year despite a potential drop in foreign arrivals after the Ratchaprasong bombing.

Local tourism operators are confident the industry will be able to recover from this latest trauma before the high season begins in October.

"It's too early to estimate the tourism damage caused by the bomb horror, but we're concerned about the tourism situation for the rest of the year," Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said.

However, she said she saw no need to revise the full-year targets of 28.8 million foreign tourists and revenue of 2.2 trillion baht, up from last year's 24.7 million visitors and 2 trillion baht.

The bombing could have a psychological impact on foreign tourists, particularly Chinese, with some cancelling or delaying trips here. Hotel cancellations are expected to rise over the next two weeks.

Tourism is seen as the only growth engine to boost the Thai economy at a time of slumping exports. Last year, it contributed 16% of the country's GDP of 12 trillion baht.

As of Sunday, tourist arrivals year-to-date had risen 31.3% to 19 million, with tourism revenue up 32.9% to 902 billion baht. Chinese tourist arrivals in the first seven months jumped 112% to 4.78 million, while the full-year target is 7 million.

Yesterday, 23 countries and territories issued advisories about travel to Thailand.

Central Plaza Hotel Plc (Centel), owner of Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, and Erawan Group Plc, operator of the Grand Hyatt Erawan, said the incident would hurt tourism not only around the Ratchaprasong intersection but across the capital.

Centel has received cancellations for about 50 rooms at the Centara Grand.

Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, Centel's senior vice-president for finance and administration, voiced confidence that the situation would bounce back in three to six months.

Erawan Group president Kamonwan Wipulakorn said business should start recovering within a month if no new incidents occurred.

But Nok Air chief executive Patee Sarasin predicts a seriously detrimental effect on tourism.

"This is the gravest thing that has ever happened to us, not seen in my lifetime," he said. "There are too many deaths, especially foreigners, which makes it worse."

The authorities must catch those responsible as soon as possible to help restore travel sentiment, Mr Patee said.

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