Impact on tourism from Erawan attack 'will last only a few months'
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THE IMPACT of the Erawan Shrine bombing on tourist arrivals is not expected to last for more than six months.
“The 2004 tsunami and the political unrest last year were different incidents but had the same statistical pattern where you see tourists returning after a few months,” said David Scowsill, president and chief executive officer of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“When any country gets hit, it follows the same pattern. The government makes the effort to rebuild the travel industry and once the incident disappears from the media radar, it is quickly forgotten and tourists will return again.”
However, tourist numbers will inevitably fall as a reaction to the explosion at the tourist spot that killed 20 and wounded more than 100 on August 17, he told Asia News Network in an exclusive interview.
He arrived in Bangkok on Monday to meet with hotel and industry players to discuss the impact of the attack on tourism.
While acknowledging that the attack was targeting tourists and was markedly different from past political upheavals, he said it was important to remember that the incident was isolated and did not affect the whole country.
“Most tourists coming to Thailand spend two or three days in Bangkok and then go somewhere else in the country,” he said.
The government has responded well by stepping up security measures, but authorities should also monitor travel advisories issued by countries for accuracy, Scowsill said.
“It is important that the advisories are specific and mention that other places in Thailand are safe to visit.”
After the bombing, 23 jurisdictions issued travel advisories for Thailand – 12 urging citizens to be cautious during trips, nine recommending a higher degree of caution, and Hong Kong, which lost two of its people, issuing a red warning alert for Hongkongers to avoid non-essential trips to Thailand.
The drop in visitors will be most apparent from the top five source countries – China, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Travellers from Europe and the United States are less likely to change their plans.
“The government has to work hard in getting the Chinese tourists back. It is hard for the sector to recover if that fails,” Scowsill said.
For example, Indonesia marketed heavily to Australia, its primary market, after the terror attacks in Bali in 2002 and 2005.
Figures from the Thai Tourism Department show that this country is a top destination for Chinese –668,079 of them came in May, for 28.9 per cent of total arrivals. Malaysians followed with 307,601 arrivals.
Tourists who choose not to visit Thailand may go to neighbouring countries, Scowsill said.
“Travellers move their destinations around. When South Korea was hit by the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome, there was a drastic drop in tourist numbers there for about two months but an increase in Japan.
“Countries across the region will gain more tourists when they avoid Thailand, so I think the impact on the region will be rather neutral,” he said.
Terror threat
Despite the two terror attacks on tourists this year – in Tunisia and the incident at the Erawan Shrine – the terror threat should not put a damper on the tourism industry globally, he said.
“Those are isolated incidents and tourists are not going to be put off by that. The only time people stopped travelling was after [the attacks on the US in September 11, 2001] and the first Iraqi war.
“Governments should not introduce harsher visa regulations in haste in the aftermath of a terror attack as that might put an extra burden on regular travellers,” he said.
It is still unclear who was behind the Erawan attack.
“Most of the perpetrators are home-grown terrorists. They do not travel across borders to commit terror in another country.”
The extra security measures put in place after the Erawan attack should remain, as it is a good practice and will also put tourists at ease.
“Over time, the general public should be sensitised to the threat of terror attacks in their surroundings. They should act as the eyes and ears of security personnel and report immediately if they spot any suspicious package lying around,” he said.
