Politics is now the final obstacle

Some economic indicators in Thailand and abroad have already improved, while both oil prices and the influenza epidemic appear to be stable, they said.

However, the Thai political scene remains a major drag on international confidence because the political unrest has taken place outside Parliament, marked by violent anti-government protests. Moreover, there seems no end in sight to the political impasse.

"The only major thing that could really revitalise the tourism sector is a resolution of the political conflict, as tourism really depends on political stability," Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said yesterday.

As the tourism industry accounts for 6 per cent of gross domestic product and employs millions of people, the government will do its best to save as many jobs as possible, he said.

Prakit Shinamourphong, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said the protracted nature of the political conflict had hit the tourism sector badly.

"In the first four months of the year, hotels were running at an average occupancy rate of only 52 per cent, down from 71 per cent in the same period last year," he said.

Surapol Sritrakul, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said the number of foreign visitors had fallen 31 per cent in the first four months of the year.

Only visitor numbers from a few markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Oman and Hong Kong have risen, but all major markets, including Japan, China, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Russia, have seen falls of 23-40 per cent.

Korbsak said the government would earmark Bt20 billion for the tourism sector out of the Bt1.5-trillion economic-stimulus package, covering spending over the next two and a half years.

This will be on top the regular state budget of Bt11 billion approved for fiscal 2010.

Korbsak said stimulus money would directly soften the impact of the tourism crisis and help operators to stay in business longer.

Of the Bt1.5-trillion stimulus money, about Bt200 billion will be spent on the agricultural sector, Bt140 billion on education and Bt100 billion on healthcare.

In the tourism sector, money will be used for loans to businesses, manpower training, revival of degraded tourism destinations and overseas roadshows.

Tourism operators are told to focus on niche markets, especially healthcare and wellness, MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and ecotourism.

Santichai Euachongprasit, deputy governor for international marketing at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said the agency would run a series of testimonials through international media such as CNN and BBC starting in June, in a bid to reclaim tourists for the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the TAT will join the private sector in hosting the Thailand Travel Mart from June 4-7 at Impact Muang Thong Thani, an event that will boost domestic tourism.

The TAT also plans to join international roadshows in China and Russia, as well as bringing tourism writers to Thailand to see the situation for themselves.

However, the agency has revised down the targeted number of foreign visitors for the year from its original projection of 14.8 million to 12-13 million, due to the global economic downturn.

Phornsiri Manoharn, chairwoman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, said the overall number of tourists across the world was expected to grow despite the presence of a host of negative factors. However, all countries are launching aggressive promotions to attract domestic tourists, instead of focusing on foreigners, she said.

"South Korea, Japan, United Kingdom, Italy, China and Mexico are now offering very attractive prices to encourage tourism.

"Thailand should consider value for money if it wants to beat its rivals," she said.