Bombings not a long-term threat : TAT

Meanwhile, three leading private-sector organisations – the Federation of Thai Industries, the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Thai Bankers Association – have urged the government to ease the conflict in the deep South as soon as possible, or the series of blasts would also affect investment sentiment in the country.
As regards the upcoming Songkran Festival, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Suraphon Svetasreni said yesterday that if there were no repeat of the past weekend’s extreme violence, he believed there would be no impact on the event, and in particular on the number of foreign tourists who normally take part.
Moreover, the Tourism Department will not revise its projection of foreign visitor arrivals of between 20.5 million and 20.8 million for the year, up from 19.09 million in 2011.
Despite the deadly explosions in the South, foreigners will remain confident that Thailand is a safe place to visit, said Arnupap Gaesornsuwan, deputy director of the agency, which is part of the Tourism and Sports Ministry.
Following the blasts, Arnupap said the number of foreign tourists entering the country through Songkhla’s Sadao district had dropped by 1,212 people on Sunday.
On Saturday, 11,316 people in total, both Thai and foreign, had passed through the district’s Immigration post. Of the total, 3,984 foreigners entered the district and 3,177 left.
On Sunday, 10,104 people passed through Immigration. The number of foreign tourists coming in was 3,978, with 4,368 going out.
At Suvarnabhumi Airport, 43,040 foreign tourists arrived on Sunday, up from 37,114 the day before, reflecting continued confidence among foreign visitors, said Arnupap.
Foreigners entering via Suvarnabhumi make up 65 per cent of the Kingdom’s foreign arrivals, followed by 12-13 per cent entering via the southern border provinces, 10-11 per cent via Phuket and 1 per cent via Chiang Mai. Some 70 per cent of the visitors arrive without having arranged their trips using a travel agency.
Boonchuay Changsirivathana-thamrong, chief consultant at the Songkhla Chamber of Commerce, said the tourism industry in the province had undoubtedly been hit by Saturday’s blasts. Sixty per cent of the rooms booked by foreign tourists to celebrate the Songkran Festival have already been cancelled, he said.
“This year, it is expected the foreign tourist numbers will drop by a half, especially among Malaysians,” he said, adding that the situation would however improve after the government launched additional measures, especially beefing up the security forces in the area.
Surachai Jitpukdeebodintra, president of the Songkhla Chamber of Commerce, said more than 18,000 foreign tourists had visited the province for last year’s Songkran Festival. There are 25,000 rooms available for visitors.
The chamber will be working with all parties to rebuild tourists’ confidence and to promote the business sector through the launching of a number of measures, which will be discussed today, he said.
Meanwhile, Arnupap said Thailand still stood out as a major tourist destination despite a spate of unpredictable situations in recent years, such as the yellow- and red-shirt political demonstrations, last year’s flood crisis and recent explosions in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok.
Despite these events, foreign tourist numbers had been on the rise in the past three years, he said, adding, “Confidence in the safety of Thailand among foreign tourists remains strong. It takes place by word of mouth.”
Yesterday, the Tourism Department set up a 24-hour call centre in cooperation with CAT Telecom to help tourists concerned about the situation following Saturday’s blasts.
Board of Trade chairman Phongsak Assakul warned that the recent explosions in Hat Yai, as well as in Yala, would affect not only tourism in the South, but also nationwide tourism, foreign direct investment and confidence of Thai businessmen to conduct business in the southern part of the country.
“The bomb blasts occurred in the trading area [of Hat Yai] and very close to the centre of the city. All involved sectors should urgently seek out measures to solve the problem,” said Payungsak Chartsuthipol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries.