Tourist to Thailand halved

The Thai tourism association said that number of international tourists has plunged which is more than 50 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago, with the forward hotel bookings also sluggish due to the current H1N1 flu threat. More of Chinese, Japanese and South Korean tourists dropped in visitor between the month of January and April said by Surapol Sritrakul, association of Thai travel agents president.

The recent outbreak of A/H1N1 flu has become the obstacle to tourism, along with the prolonged worldwide economic crisis and internal political problems and if the disease reaches this country, the tourism sector will suffer an even greater impact. Not only this, it is also hitting the tourism business with local travel agencies. In fact the new bookings from abroad are reportedly very slow, particularly for the next two months added, by Thai Hotels Association president Prakit Chinamour-phong.

Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkrit Hiranyakit estimates the tourism sector will decline 30 per cent in the first half of the year and possibly 20 per cent for the whole year, generating about 540 billion baht annually. This makes up more than 6 per cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product and 7 per cent of its work force.