Britain, Canada and Australia have issued travel warnings against
coming to Bangkok, on anticipation of violence related to the huge
red-shirt rally. Meanwhile, it is feared that if prolonged, the protests will worsen fragile economic conditions.
With businesses concerned about how a prolonged rally might tarnish the image of the country, which is hosting an Asean Summit
this week, eight tourism associations will issue a statement today
calling for a halt to it and the avoidance of any violence, as well as
steps towards reconciliation. "The tourism sector is being terribly affected by the political
unrest. Many tourists are opting for other destinations instead. We’re
heading for the worst," said Federation of Thai Tourism Associations
chairman Charoen Wangananont.
Association of Thai Travel Agents president Apichart Sankary said
only 40 chartered flights were scheduled to fly to Thailand for
Songkran, down sharply from more than 200 last year. A prolonged rally
could also deter Chinese visitors planning to come here for their
Labour Day holiday early next month. "If the chaos continues, many operators will have to close their businesses and lay off workers," he said.
Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa admitted Tuesday’s
attack on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s official car in Pattaya
was raising security concerns among tourists. Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkrit Hiranyakit earlier
said there were expectations of Japanese, South Korean and Chinese
tourists returning by this quarter, but the renewed chaos may delay
that. As it is now, Thailand will be lucky to welcome 12.8 million
visitors this year, less than the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s
target of 14.8 million, he said.
The Thailand Exhibition Association, expecting zero growth for the
meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions industry, said the
Kingdom would miss its goal of becoming a regional hub, due to the
cumulation of negative factors. Businessmen yesterday expressed concern that a prolonged anti-government protest might encourage Asean leaders to rethink their participation in the Pattaya meeting this weekend.
"A prolonged protest will undermine not only the country’s economic growth, but also its image among Asean members,"
said Santi Vilassakdanont, chairman of a private committee consisting
of the Board of Trade, the Thai Bankers’ Association and the Federation
of Thai Industries. He said that although security must be beefed up, measures must be in accordance with the democratic rule of law.
Board of Trade deputy secretary-general Pornsilp Patcharintanakul said
illegal activities were the last thing Thailand needed and urged the
government to take control of the situation. If the protest continues,
some Asean leaders
and observers from the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development may be reluctant to participate in
the regional summit this weekend. That would damage the Kingdom’s
image, he said.
A survey released yesterday by Political and Economic Risk
Consultancy showed foreign investors were now more concerned about
political instability than Thailand’s ranking in the Asian corruption
table, which is second only to Indonesia. The Japan Credit Rating Agency is maintaining a "negative" outlook
on its ratings for Thailand’s debts, out of concern over political
developments.
"On the political and social front, the structural factors that
brought about the turmoil in 2008 remain unresolved. There remains the
possibility that the current government may lose its public support,
the entrenched confrontation may resurface, political and social unrest
may recur and effective economic policies may be hampered," it said in
a statement.
