Bangkok Post: The world windows to Thailand

The swine flu outbreak has yet to hit the country's tourism sector and overall economy, according to Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij.

"The number of commercial airline flights in the country rose by approximately 20 per cent while hotel bookings were about 15 to 20 per cent higher during the five-day holiday," Mr Korn said on Thursday.

He said fuel usage during the holiday from Saturday to Wednesday also increased.

These indicators showed that people were not worried about the flu outbreak and it did not discourage them from travelling, the minister said. 

Mr Korn said he questioned the World Health Organisation's report that Thailand had the highest number of flu fatalities in the region, because different countries had different ways of recording medical information and fatalities.

The flu outbreaks in different countries could not be compared, he said.

The Public Health Ministry confirmed three more swine flu fatalities on Thursday morning, raising the toll to 14.