Tourism minister says MERS outbreak not affecting tourism

[Lite Beer]

Tourism minister says MERS outbreak not affecting tourism

BANGKOK: -- Tourism minister says MERS outbreak not affecting tourism Tourism minister says MERS outbreak not affecting tourism

The MERS-CoV virus outbreak in South Korea has not hurt Thailand's tourism industry as prevention measures now implemented at various airports by the Public Health Ministry are effective, according to Mrs Kobkarn Wattanavarangkul, the minister of Tourism and Sports.
She said the tourism sector remains unaffected from the outbreak in South Korea.

According to NNT, The ministry has been closely monitoring the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and is confident in the Ministry of Public Health’s prevention methods, she said.

She has said that the ministry has been working with all agencies on disease prevention and so far the epidemic has not caused any negative effects to the country’s tourism sector.

At the same time Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) vice president Krichanat Meesamran said that the association was to consider notifying agency members on effective prevention methods of the MERS-CoV, including safety precautions, taking care of travelers’ sanitation, and advices on routes that should be avoided when travelling to South Korea.

From January to April this year about 166,000 travelers from Thailand visited South Korea, representing a 6% growth from last year.

In return, 374,000 travellers from South Korea visited Thailand from January to March this year, a 18.7% growth, ranking the six place after Chinese, Japanese, North American, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/tourism-minister-says-mers-outbreak-not-affecting-tourism

-- Thai PBS 2015-06-13

[clockman]

Wait till after Ramadan, before making statements about M.E.R.S. But they love to hear the sound of there own voices.

[Orac]

All it will take is one case in Thailand and the situation will change very quickly. 85% of tourists from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have cancelled trips to S Korea since the outbreak there started. For an economy that has become so dependant on Chinese tourism the consequences for Thailand could be devastating should it start spreading further throughout the region.

[Lupatria]

The lady wouldn't survive a month as a manager of a grocery store.

[fareastguy]

All it will take is one case in Thailand and the situation will change very quickly. 85% of tourists from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have cancelled trips to S Korea since the outbreak there started. For an economy that has become so dependant on Chinese tourism the consequences for Thailand could be devastating should it start spreading further throughout the region.

Totally agree.. it's a bit "previous" to make a ridiculous statement like that..as at the moment Thailand is MERS free.. luckily.

I'm just waiting for a Thai citizen returning home or a tourist to enter Thailand after being in an infected country to bring in the MERS virus while it's in it's "incubation period" and thus harder to detect any symptoms!!

However I'm not so sure if Thailand will be as honest in their reporting of all cases when it eventually does arrive as other countries have been.

I think they will be slow to report the early cases to avoid the inevitable tourist impact and try to avoid domestic upset... this will have a negative effect and actually help to spread the infection nationwide & further!!

[Orac]

The lady wouldn't survive a month as a manager of a grocery store.

To be fair, she did get to be chairperson of Toshiba (Thailand) though i am not entirely sure if this was down to her business acumen or her parents buying 45% of the company.

[Jonmarleesco]

Well, MERS was first identified in 2012, not 2015. And the fatality rate has been 30 - 40%. So I wouldn't want the good lady to get too complacent about the possibility of cases slipping through. This is no time for 'mai pen rai'.

[flyingdoc]

What precautions are in place?

[khaowong1]

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha .. nothing more to say about the Tourism Ministers statements.

[spidermike007]

Great stuff. She has a lot of qualifications as tourism minister, as she used to travel a lot with her former position as chairwoman of Toshiba. Her parents bought a 45% stake in Toshiba Thailand, and that qualified her for the position. Again, the government here continues as a meritocracy. LOL.

The ruling military dictatorship in Thailand has replaced the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Somsak Pureesrisak, with former Toshiba CEO and Kasikorn Bank Independent Director, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul. Just like the previous Minister of Tourism and Sports, Ms. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul is totally unqualified to serve in this position.

Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul courtesy Bangkok Post

The previous Minister of Tourism and Sports was an electrical engineer and knew nothing of the tourism business and it has shown with numbers of foreign tourist arrivals down every month this year. Yes, the protests, martial law, and coup d’etat had a major impact, but the former Minister of Tourism and Sports did nothing to counter.

The current Minister of Tourism and Sports is definitely a top-notch businesswoman and high society elite making her mark at Toshiba thanks to her parents buying a 45% stake in Toshiba Thailand.

Ms Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul received her education in the USA “studying” at Wellesley College and then graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design.

But, on her Facebook page, there is no mention of the Rhode Island School of Design and at Linkedin, she has all of 26 connections and lists very little about her background.

[Orac]

Great stuff. She has a lot of qualifications as tourism minister, as she used to travel a lot with her former position as chairwoman of Toshiba. Her parents bought a 45% stake in Toshiba Thailand, and that qualified her for the position. Again, the government here continues as a meritocracy. LOL.

The ruling military dictatorship in Thailand has replaced the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Somsak Pureesrisak, with former Toshiba CEO and Kasikorn Bank Independent Director, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul. Just like the previous Minister of Tourism and Sports, Ms. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul is totally unqualified to serve in this position.

Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul courtesy Bangkok Post The previous Minister of Tourism and Sports was an electrical engineer and knew nothing of the tourism business and it has shown with numbers of foreign tourist arrivals down every month this year. Yes, the protests, martial law, and coup d’etat had a major impact, but the former Minister of Tourism and Sports did nothing to counter.

The current Minister of Tourism and Sports is definitely a top-notch businesswoman and high society elite making her mark at Toshiba thanks to her parents buying a 45% stake in Toshiba Thailand.

Ms Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul received her education in the USA “studying” at Wellesley College and then graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design.

But, on her Facebook page, there is no mention of the Rhode Island School of Design and at Linkedin, she has all of 26 connections and lists very little about her background.

Her mother is Niramol Bulakul Suriyasat who coincidentally also went to Wellesley College and was also chairperson of Toyota Thailand. The Bulakul family name is far more well known from her grandparents, Mah and Boonkrong, whose initials are included in the shopping mall MBK and also the Chokchai Farms business. The Bulakul family name was adopted when when Field Marshall Pibulsongkram was in power and is derived from his name "Bul" and "kul" meaning clan.