Security warnings not damaging Thailand tourism trade
There will be no long-term affect after the deportation of 40 Uyghurs back to China, with a number of countries warning citizens to take care in Thailand, according to tourism operators who say cyber-scams are a bigger threat.
The Thai Hotels Association (THA) recently issued surveys to its members to estimate cancellations on bookings as tourism confidence wanes.
Just last week, the US embassy in Bangkok and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued security warnings advising their citizens on travel in Thailand to exercise increased caution when visiting crowded places.
Both pointed to the 2015 bombing of the Erawan Shrine that killed 20 people after Thailand sent 109 Uyghurs back to China. Thailand last week deported 40 Uyghurs who had been detained for nearly 11 years, a decision that drew widespread condemnation despite government assurances that China had promised to keep the men safe.
The president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn said the problem will hurt tourism in the short term but is not as serious as the impact from call centre scams.
Independent travellers or small groups who are familiar with Thailand make up most tourists from key markets like Japan, the US, Europe and Taiwan, he said on Tuesday.
He added that the Japanese market could expand more slowly because of the yen’s depreciation, which makes overseas trips more expensive for Japanese tourists.
Sorawong Thienthong, tourism and sports minister, said the ministry has set up the three Tourism Authority of Thailand offices in Japan to monitor travel sentiment but no immediate effects have been seen.
Last month, Taiwan also included Thailand among five high-risk scam destinations in Southeast Asia.
Mr Sisdivachr said the government needed to take a more serious approach to deal with call centre scams which continues to dent confidence in tourism, especially among Chinese.
Adith Chairattananon, honorary secretary-general of Atta added that travel to Thailand should not be slowed down “at the moment,” unless the US and Japan had raised their warning levels. While foreign tour groups are continuing to book trips to Thailand, he added, the government needs to ensure their safety on any future trips.
THA president Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun said his association is gathering surveys from its members to assess cancellations and other adverse impacts from the safety alerts issued by US and Japan.
Some hotels, he said, have begun taking additional security measures in the event of emergencies.
The THA appealed to security officials to maintain security at potential targets to avoid damage that could have serious implications for tourism, such as acute incidents that have occurred in the past, said Mr Thienprasit. According to informal exchanges with THA committees, there aren’t ANY mass cancellations.
By March 2, Thailand had received over 7 million foreign visitors in 2023, including 1 million Chinese. The total was up 5.9% compared with a year earlier.