The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is considering measures to combat a dip in arrivals following the shooting at Siam Paragon, with a focus on severely affected markets such as China.
The agency said it was too early to evaluate revenue losses as it needs to monitor the response after the ongoing Chinese holiday period ends. An official forecast could be issued next week.
Some in the private sector have estimated losses of around 50 billion baht during the high season, which Nithee Seeprae, deputy governor for marketing communications at TAT, said was possible if Thailand did not implement proper measures to regain tourist confidence.
All related tourism organisations are ramping up efforts to limit the damage, with TAT preparing a restoration plan for target markets this month, he said.
Mr Nithee said TAT will carefully select an appropriate time to start the promotional campaign.
He said as soon as the time frame is settled, TAT will cooperate with partners in China, including mobile phone operators, streaming platforms and online influencers with high penetration rates, to help promote Thai tourism.
Once the agency receives an additional budget, it will be used for joint promotional campaigns with airlines, online travel agents, e-commerce platforms and airlines, said Mr Nithee.
These campaigns can be extended to other countries than China, he said.
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), said the recent shooting in Bangkok was another blow that spoiled Chinese tourism sentiment as safety issues have been the biggest online topic of discussion in China this year.
He said the visa-free scheme helped to drive demand in the past 10 days, but the government has still failed to scrub negative news on Chinese social media.
Adith Chairattananon, honorary secretary-general of Atta, said the tragic incident would typically have an impact for 2-4 weeks.
However, he said it is not the right time to gauge financial losses as the country should prioritise taking care of affected tourists and seriously step up both security measures and proactive communication in battling negative perceptions about Thailand during this critical period.
