It was the first time that the sector had commented on the current wave of political unrest.

In the statement, private companies called on the government and opposition as well as the protest groups to find a solution as soon as possible as the tourist industry would suffer if the turmoil continued.

The move is in response to the political unrest as private firms are concerned the situation might deteriorate further.

The federation is made up of five associations: the Thai Hotels Association, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), the Thai Travel Agents' Association, the Thai Eco-tourism and Adventure Travel Association and the Association of Domestic Travel.

"The federation is concerned that the job situation for the more than 100,000 people working in the industry may be affected if the situation worsens," said ATTA president Apichart Sankary.

The industry has already suffered a knock-on-effect from the unrest with several in-bound tour operators cancelling bookings from the United States and Japan, Apichart said, and some conferences postponed.

Domestic travel has also suffered.

"People are in a wait-and-see mood, and some have postponed travel plans as they are not sure about the future and prefer to hold on to their money, he said.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is following the situation closely but continuing to push ahead with promotional campaigns, such as Grand Invitation 2006, aimed at attracting foreigners and Thais living abroad to the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne.

According to another report, Thai Airways International said that there had been no decline in passenger arrivals to Thailand despite the ongoing rallies calling for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to step down from office.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation