BANGKOK, Jan 27 (TNA) – The ongoing novel coronavirus
outbreak will severely hit Thai tourism industry if it is not contained within
three months, the Tourism Council of Thailand says.
Visitors from China are the biggest source of Thailand’s
tourism revenue last year, increasing 4.4 percent to 10.99 million, according
to government data. The virus outbreak
has caused tour cancelations and suspensions for tour services causing an
estimated loss of over THB10 billion.
Chairman of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) Chairat
Trairattancharatphon said the estimate was based on a dip of five million Chinese
visitors.
If the outbreak persisted for over three months, its impact
on Thailand’s tourism industry could be substantial, he said.
The TCT planned to hold discussions with tourism-related
entities, both public and private, to assess the situation and brainstorm on
measures to ease the negative impacts, he added.
Manop Saejia, head of a tour guide association of Chiang
Mai, a popular destination of Chinese tourists, said he was concerned over the
effectiveness of health quarantine system.
About 40 percent of Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai travelled
in group tours while the rest was independent, he said.
These independent tourists could spread the deadly virus if
strict quarantine measures were not in place, said Manop.
He called a similar public health measures carried out
during the SARS outbreak in 2003 when all tourists went through health
checks.
Tourist arrivals in Thailand hit a record 39.8 million in
2019, rising of 7 percent from 2018.
With the coronavirus crisis, the country is unlikely
reaching the government target of 41.8 million tourists in 2020. (TNA)
