Bombings To Impact Foreign Tourism From Mid-2007

[george]

Bombings to impact foreign tourism from mid-2007

BANGKOK: -- The New Year's Eve bombings may impact on Thailand's tourism business from the middle of 2007, a tourism executive said Tuesday.

Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) president Anek Srichivachart said that so far no foreign tourists had cancelled their planned visits to Thailand as a result of of New Year's Eve explosions, but government offices and private businesses will reopen tomorrow after the four-day New Year holiday and may receive news of some cancellations .

If Sunday's incidents do not linger in the headlines and do not continue to take place, then the impact could be minimal, he said.

Mr. Anek said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tourism Authority of Thailand should work together with private tourism organisations and join hands to compile information and distribute it worldwide to bolster confidence among foreign tourists planning to visit the Kingdom.

He said that tourism would be affected by news and perceptions of violence in Bangkok, but unless such violence continued, it would not be major.

Earlier projections estimated that revenue from tourism this year would be Bt540 billion which would be spent by about 16 million people.

--TNA 2007-01-02

[Rinrada]

Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) president Anek Srichivachart said that so far no foreign tourists had cancelled their planned visits to Thailand as a result of of New Year's Eve explosions.....

...rather a silly thing to say ...meanthinks......

[londonthai]

how he predicts that tourism will be affected from the middle of 2007 and not now is puzzling as well - if the bombings won't continue tourists won't bother. For the next few weeks tourists planning come to thailand will be checking on developments

[astral]

Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) president Anek Srichivachart said that so far no foreign tourists had cancelled their planned visits to Thailand as a result of of New Year's Eve explosions.....

...rather a silly thing to say ...meanthinks......

It reminds me of the Ostrich which sticks its head in the sand, so that it cannot see what is happening...................

[DragonQuest]

if it does effect the tourism industry then it will have a significant impact on the thai economy, not all of it though.

[plachon]

if it does effect the tourism industry then it will have a significant impact on the thai economy, not all of it though.

A very perceptive comment if you don't mind me saying, sir. My money's on it not impacting the agricultural sector too badly, but I'm still not decided about the textiles and ceramics sectors. I think I'll wait and see what happens, before sticking my neck out and making a significant comment about which parts of the Thai economy might be affected..........

[Eff1n2ret]

how he predicts that tourism will be affected from the middle of 2007 and not now is puzzling as well - if the bombings won't continue tourists won't bother. For the next few weeks tourists planning come to thailand will be checking on developments

I think it's a perfectly reasonable proposition that tourists who were thinking of booking holidays in Thailand later in the year may decide to go somewhere else to be on the safe side - I know somebody who back in September/October was planning to go to Thailand, but booked for the Maldives instead when the coup happened.

However, people who've already booked may still decide to come, unless there is further trouble in the next few weeks. If there is, then I would expect a wave of cancellations.

[mayacan]

It will be interesting to see if the recent bombings in Bangkok affect tourism in the country. This is the high season for many areas in Southern Thailand on through March, and even April., and then again in August.

I have a hunch that tourism will be affected only sligthly if at all. Also it seems that so many people who travel don't seem to care who is running those countries, and how those governments take care of their people's right to opportunity, fare wages, affordable modern dwellings, and a quality education.

All people care about is a good deal with good service, they are not in the least really concerned about the reality of life for the locals. People are not concered with who owns the hotels, food places, airlines, airports, shops, and.... what kind of rights and wages the workers have.....Unfortunately, most people don't care if the workers work at least 6 days each week, 12 to 16 hour shifts, for cents per hour. Naw, people are only concered with a good deal & good service. Unfornately, it will have to take more killings to impact tourism, and God forbid anyting like that...

Pray for Peace, justice, & rights for all...

[steveromagnino]

AFAIK....

- people who have already paid for tickets may still cancel; this information is accessible by tourism authorities via their members hence they can see cancellations (which is how they could see for SARS, birdflu, post-tsunami, etc etc) and therefore reports after say a week start to paint a picture of how many cancellations can be expected; often there is a partial refund

- LondonThai - people who have already paid are less likely to cancel; therefore arrival numbers start to get important around March when 90 days out people aren't already within the 'system' hence they are still not paying anything and have nothing to lose by choosing to go to Australia or Fiji instead of Thailand for instance. That is the key number for TAT etc because they need to know outside of the high season, what is going to happen thereafter; looking at Feb numbers will be a false sense of security, since many of the tourists will come anyway, knowing that to cancel would cost them say 50% or 25% of the cost of their trip - exactly as EFFRiNEN (or however you spell that!) says :-)

- Astral; I think, maybe I am not an expert in English, but I guess that 'so far' means to date; it is far too early to see the impact on tourism; but I can guarantee a press reporter has asked, so have their been cancellations yet? And the reply has been 'not so far'....hmmmm..... ostrich in sand comments repeated et al after SARS, tsunami, bird flu, coup etc etc; who knows what will happen this time?

[travelgirl17]

I have a hunch that tourism will be affected only sligthly if at all. Also it seems that so many people who travel don't seem to care who is running those countries, and how those governments take care of their people's right to opportunity, fare wages, affordable modern dwellings, and a quality education.

All people care about is a good deal with good service, they are not in the least really concerned about the reality of life for the locals. People are not concered with who owns the hotels, food places, airlines, airports, shops, and.... what kind of rights and wages the workers have.....Unfortunately, most people don't care if the workers work at least 6 days each week, 12 to 16 hour shifts, for cents per hour. Naw, people are only concered with a good deal & good service. Unfornately, it will have to take more killings to impact tourism, and God forbid anyting like that...

While I know that it is true that many tourists to Thailand don't respect the country in the way they should, which includes being concerned for its welfare, it is a sweeping generalization to say that "all people care about is a good deal." It's true, like you said, that so many people don't care....but only through visiting these countries are our eyes opened to the situations and injustices that need to be adressed. I'm sure it is disheartening to see day in and day out floods of tourists throwing money into the country and only perpetuating a cycle of poverty for so many Thai people, there are a lot of us dedicated to preserving and improving Thailand so future generations will be able to fall in love with the country as I have. My first trip I stayed in hotels, ate at fancy restaurants and bought lots of souveneirs...the typical tourist traps....but after seeing the glaring problems tourism caused - and the fact that I was in the country during the devastating tsunami and felt that short of giving cash, i could do nothing to help - I am now returning to volunteer on a wildlife reserve caring for animals hurt by tourism and educating local people about ecotourism near Hua Hin. I'm no saint and won't "save" Thailand or anything, but please don't assume that every visitor you pass on the street is just there for cheap massages.

[Jai Dee]

DPM M.R. Pridiyathorn: long-term effects of bomb blasts depend on the progress of investigation

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakul (์ปรีดิยาธร เทวกุล), indicated that long-term effects of bomb blasts will depend on the progress of investigation.

M.R. Pridiyathorn said that the Cabinet meeting did not focus too much on the national economy, as there are not much repercussions seen in the stock market. However, the recent bomb blasts may affect tourism in the short term.

M.R. Pridiyathorn further added that investors’ confidence still remains positive.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 03 January 2007

[aaaaaa]

Neighbours challenge Thailand

Wed, January 3, 2007 18:27 pm

According to the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), Thailand's new tourism competitors are China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and India.

These countries are putting more strategies in force to earn more income by developing new destinations.

India introduced the Incredible India Campaign, while Laos launched its own Visit Year.

Vietnam is attracting tourists with world heritage sites and China is further opening up for tourism.

Meanwhile, traditional rivals - Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and New Zealand - have been developing more destination highlights.

The September 19 coup hurt tourism. It remains to be seen whether the Bangkok bombings on New Year's Eve will deter visitors.

although all in all prognisis for newly started year are still bright - that is a fact that neighbours aren't sleeping!

[hammered]

About 60% of visitors to Thailand come from Asia, and this is a market that should be expanding. I wonder how sensitive this group is to political uncertainty.

Interestingly the number of tourists from Malaysia, which represents about 10% of total tourism per year have been rising. Most of these arrivals come across land borders into the restive south. The increase in the numbers seem to indicate that inspite of daily trouble visitors are not deterred.

My own personal feeling is that people in general are not detered unless complete chaos breaks out although at a guess visitors with kids may be a group that are more affected than others.

[The Skipper]

The bombings will certainly have a big impact on tourism.Especially families.

The head of a family, planning the vacation, might want to come to Thailand but will want to avoid the Tsunamis areas and now with the bombings, nowhere is safe enough.

Much safer places to go. Agreed?

[OlRedEyes]

While I know that it is true that many tourists to Thailand don't respect the country in the way they should, which includes being concerned for its welfare, it is a sweeping generalization to say that "all people care about is a good deal." It's true, like you said, that so many people don't care....but only through visiting these countries are our eyes opened to the situations and injustices that need to be adressed.

Tourists generally, I'd imagine, go on holiday to have a good time and to relax from a year of drudgery and pressures, and rightly so. Hardly fair to expect them to spend their mostly well-earned break with all this respect, caring for injustices etc demanded of them. They are customers seeking a good time and paying fair money for it. Absolutely nothing wrong with it.

If you want caring and concern, sell green tourism, not general tourism.

[Diablo Bob]

This is an example of what is a small impact, but an impact none the less.

I am currently working on a project for the Canadian Military in Afghanistan. During the last few months, I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the young soldiers on duty.

The Canadian military gives these soldiers "Duty leave" of 2 weeks during their 9 month tour. The Canadian military pays for ALL transportation expenses and ALL room costs during that 2 week period.

5 of these soldiers had decided to come to Thailand this January.

Yesterday, they were summoned to the transportation officer who told them that they were not prohibited from coming to Thailand BUT if they did, they would have to pay their own way. Due to the unrest the Canadian military would not fund any vacations to Thailand until the situation has changed.

I know, It was only 5 people....... 2 have chosen to go to Paris France the others still have a month for the situation to define itself before they have to commit one way or the other.

[sonthaya]

The bombings will certainly have a big impact on tourism.Especially families.

The head of a family, planning the vacation, might want to come to Thailand but will want to avoid the Tsunamis areas and now with the bombings, nowhere is safe enough.

Much safer places to go. Agreed?

I'm sorry to say but I think you are wrong, friends of mine who are in the hotel business in Phuket reports the best year since the hotel opened in 1996, people forget fast nobody is worried of a Tsunami, you have to live your life and enjoy it and the chance of an other Tsunami is pretty remote. Very few people here in Denmark has heard about the bombs in Bangkok, and those who have will still go, and Bangkok is hardly the choice for a family holiday.

If any impact on tourism, I think it will very small.