Thailand`s tourism industry could lose over Bt40 billion unless tourism in the six Andaman provinces affected by last month`s tsunami picks up…
Thailand`s tourism industry could lose over Bt40 billion unless tourism in the six Andaman provinces affected by last month`s tsunami picks up within three months, the Tourism Authority of Thailand warned.
TAT governor Juthamas Siriwan said that a failure of the Andaman tourism sector to revive over the first quarter of the year could see tourist numbers drop by five million, causing a loss of around Bt43 billion in revenue. By the second quarter of the year, this figure could jump to Bt52.4 billion, or Bt78.3 billion after 12 months.
The grim scenario would dash the government`s hopes of attracting around 12 million domestic and foreign tourists to the Andaman region this year. Domestic tourism could be particularly badly affected, with the worst case predictions envisaging a drop of 50 percent in Thai visitors.
The TAT has now embarked on a desperate public relations campaign to restore confidence in the provinces where over 5,000 people died when massive tidal waves hit on 26 December. Over the coming weeks, international media networks and tour operators are being invited to the region to see for themselves the progress being made on rebuilding the region`s resorts and tourist attractions.
Mrs. Juthamas said that the TAT was initially concentrating on the Chinese market, due to the imminence of Chinese New Year, when many Chinese traditionally visit tourist resorts such as Phuket.
For Thai tourists, the TAT is working with tour operators to organize cut-price Andaman tour packages. The TAT also hopes to attract more incentive and conference tourists to the region. Additional publicity is being provided by well-known public figures and sports stars visiting the area at the invitation of the government.
However, Mrs. Juthamas warned that in some cases the media was doing more harm than good, in particular by publishing stories of reported local ghost sightings following the tsunami.
Nonetheless, she expressed confidence that the next three months would see a rising number of visitors to Phuket.
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