Apichart Sankary, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said tourists from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan were coming to the Kingdom to see the statue, the previous version of which was destroyed earlier this year by a mentally disturbed man, who was promptly beaten to death by a mob.

"I'm told some chartered flights from Hong Kong are bringing them to Thailand," said Apichart.

He said there would be more tourists in November, during the shrine's annual celebrations.

He hopes for more upper-tier Asian tourists.

"While we were waiting for the new statue to be unveiled, local tour operators got many e-mails from their counterparts in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong seeking information about the shrine's inauguration," said Apichart, who hopes the statue will boost tourism in the Rajaprasong area.

A source in the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, close to the shrine, said tourists from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan made up more than 70 per cent of the worshippers. Most of the rest are Thais.

The source said hotels and shops nearby were benefiting from the flock of new arrivals, both foreign and Thai.

Sitsadiwachara Shewaratanaporn, vice-president of the Thai-Chinese Travel Association, said he expected more Chinese to visit Thailand in the second half of the year. Many tour operators in China's major cities are adding Than Tao Mahaphrom to their packages.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has estimated that the number of Chinese tourists will exceed one million this year, generating Bt26 billion in revenue. This would mark an increase of 30 per cent over last year, when 779,070 Chinese travelled to the Kingdom and spent Bt19.6 billion.

Meanwhile, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said yesterday after a TAT board meeting that the Cabinet should next week approve a Bt900-million promotional budget for the agency in a bid to minimise the current-account deficit after the baht's appreciation and in the wake of the high oil prices, both of which threatened Thailand with reduced competitiveness.

Somkid also instructed the agency to try to take measures to increase 13.5 million to 14.5 million tourists - a 25-per-cent increase over last year's figures. Spending by tourists should rise to Bt500 billion this year, he said.

"It's apparent that, with political and economic problems, including the high oil prices, the tourism industry has not been very active. The TAT will need to find ways to spur travel, which could incorporate free tickets or discounts in the latter half of the year," the minister said.

TAT governor Juthamas Siriwan said that of the new budget for the agency, about Bt100 million-Bt150 million would be spent on boosting domestic tourism.

The agency will also consider joining with MCOT Plc to promote tourism, besides cooperation with Thai Airways International and Bangkok Airways.

 Suchat Sritama

 The Nation