The deadly earthquake in Myanmar is supposed to hurt the arrival of foreign tourists in Thailand in the coming weeks, the last blow to an industry that is already diminishing the remaining Chinese visitors, worries about travel security.
Also read: Myanmar and Thailand earthquakes: What are shocks and why are they dangerous? All you need to know
As Bloomberg states with the Cibbning Association of Thai hotels, the international tourist arrivals are expected to drop by 10% -15% or even more in the next two weeks, as Friday 7.7 earthquakes shook buildings in Bangkok and other Thai tourist hot places and scared future travelers.
“About 10% of foreign tourists checked out soon after the earthquake, said Thienprasit Chaiyapranun, President of the Association, and quoted the initial survey among members of the group. However, some tourists later returned to their hotels because they had no other options,” he said.
“For tourism, a short -term impact is expected for security concerns,” Thienprasit told Saturday.
Also read: 144 dead as a catastrophic earthquake to dust in Myanmar in Thailand; Junta boss is looking for “any help”: 10 points
A slight decline in tourist arrivals could significantly affect the Thai economy, where tourism employs one of five people and contributes around 13% to GDP.
Thai officials are optimistic about the strengthening of tourism to achieve a 3%growth goal this year, as the exports of goods face challenges as a result of Trump’s business tariffs.
To assure international travel agents, the Minister of Tourism and Sport Sorawong Thienthong confirmed the security of Thailand for tourists on Saturday and announced the government security audit of hotels and key tourist sites.
While the earthquake spewed buildings across Bangkok, which led to mass evacuation and suspension of public transport per day, the city, unlike massive destruction in Myanmar, was not largely injured. The collapse of the high -rise buildings in Bangkok was the biggest hit from Temblor, killed 10 workers and captured dozens under his ruins.
Certainly, tourist arrivals have dropped in recent months. A series of high -ranking trafficking in fraud in Myanmar through Thailand has forced some travelers from China, the largest Thai source of tourists to avoid the Southeast Asian nation, Bloomberg reported.
Also read: Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra announces emergency in Bangkok at strong earthquake
The hotel reservations during the Songkran festival, which next month, were not so good compared to two years and worries about Tremic safety could further hurt confidence among foreign visitors, Thienprasit from the hotel group said.
Foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand decrease every week from the end of the Lunar New Year’s rush at the beginning of February.
Economists Bank of America have reduced their expectations AS, with reference to the forecast of 38.1 million tourist arrivals this year. This comes when Thailand enters the low season, with European tourist numbers declining and the Chinese arrivals are still recovering.
Yet Thailand has welcomed 8.9 million tourists since January, which, according to the latest official data, meant an increase of 2.9% compared to the same period last year.
The impact could occur in the next two weeks.
Also read: Thailand earthquake: Indian embassy in Bangkok issues an emergency assistance number for citizens
Foreign visitors in groups do not care about safety, as can be seen from current flight plans at key Thai airports, ADDITH said the Presidency, Secretary General of the Association of Thai travel agencies.
A short -term impact on tourism is expected due to security concerns.
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