Floods could cost Bt120 bn if impact persists, TCC says 

Vichai Assarasakorn, vice chairman of the TCC, said that if the floods subsided within the next week or two, the cost would be only about Bt10 billion to Bt15 billion, or 0.1 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. But if the inundation lasts for two to three months, the cost will be 0.5-0.7 per cent of GDP because of the time needed to repair the damage and rehabilitate affected sectors of the economy.
“The highest losses are in the agricultural sector, particular in two key southern economic crops, rubber and palm, as they take a long time to grow. Rubber needs eight to 10 years, while oil palm needs three to five years. During the waiting period, farmers would have no income, and that would create problems for the economy in the South,” Vichai said.
The chambers in the South do not expect the floods to hurt the tourism sector seriously. So far, only 10-20 per cent of hotel reservations in the Gulf of Thailand area have been cancelled, while some tourists have adjusted their plans to travel to the Andaman coast instead, as it has suffered less impact from the flooding. The TCC has proposed five plans to reduce the economic impact of flooding in the South, now and in the future.
First, city planning laws and those governing building and construction should be strictly enforced. Second, the government should draft a plan for maintaining floodways.
Next, the government needs urgently to ensure sufficient water resources for consumption and to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure and homes. 
Besides providing compensation for farmers, the government should restructure the agricultural sector in the South to increase its efficiency, through zoning and increasing yield per rai. 
Finally, the government should launch a campaign to stimulate tourism in the South, especially on the Gulf of Thailand, after the flooding has subsided.