Tourism Declines

Bangkok city centre is getting back to normal as the residents and city cleaners scrub away the graffiti and clear up the remains from the anti-government protestors. However the tourist industry has been affected by the violence as the bloody battles were shown all over the world and millions of baht have been lost due to the red shirts encampment in the ultra-modern shopping district of Bangkok.

Tourist numbers arriving from Asia in particular have declined and the effect on the economy is serious. More than 47 countries issued travel warnings against visiting not only Bangkok, but included the whole of the country. The country has had a string of bad luck over the past few years and this latest episode is sure to put another dent in its reputation as the ‘Land of Smiles’.

Tourism in Thailand accounts for 6% of the gross domestic product and reports have poured in from all over telling of hotel room occupancy rates right down, empty streets and tourists cancelling bookings. 95% of Chiang Mai residents are Red Shirt supporters and the political situation remains unstable.

Officials from the tourism industry, hotel associations and airlines, met recently to devise a marketing plan to help revive the industry. The government has been asked to subsidise advertising in an attempt to win back travellers from Japan and China, which has cancelled charter flights and attention is to be focused on the short-haul market, the quick win market, Southeast Asian and Asian countries.

It’s expected to take around 6 months for the industry to recover as long as nothing else causes further unrest.