Look local until foreigners return
Tourism contributes 6% to Thailand's economy and employs about one million people. Until recently, it also looked comfortably placed for further growth.

We will survive
Despite it all, Wayne Buckingham, regional vice-president for Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia for Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts, is relatively optimistic about the future of tourism in Thailand.

No end in sight to anxiety
Only by minimising debts and expanding their customer base will hoteliers stay afloat in 2009, said Chanin Donavanik, managing director and CEO of the Dusit Thani Group.

Slimmer but still reaching for the sky
When Bangkok Airways founder Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth asked his senior management how they could help the airline through the current crisis, they were not reluctant to agree to a difficult proposition - a salary cut.

The strong will survive
In Charles Darwin's natural selection theory the fittest will survive. But for Nino Jotikasthira, managing director and CEO of the leading inbound tour operator Turismo Asia, this may not be enough to survive the two crises that have confronted Thailand.

Positive thinking the best navigator
Tony Fernandes and AirAsia, the budget carrier he created that revolutionised Southeast Asian air travel, have been the subject of scepticism all along for their knack of flying against a headwind.