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Signs are ominous for the tourism industry, particularly when it concerns visitors from Japan.

Though some individual travellers have maintained their holiday plans, many organised tours have been cancelled due to the protests in Bangkok in April. Road shows have been launched to assure both foreign investors and tourists of safety.

Then, here comes the swine flu.

The Thai-Japan Tourist Association had expected that Japanese visitors to Thailand would plunge by 600,000 in the second half as Japan discourages travel even within the Kingdom to limit the spread of the disease.

What's alarming is this estimate was released before influenza 2009 cases escalated to nearly 100 on Friday. On that day alone, 43 new cases were revealed, bringing the total in Thailand to 89.

And the cases were reported from several parts of the country including major vacation destinations like Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok.

Though over 70 countries across the world have reported such cases, which prompted the World Health Organisation to lift its warning to the top level, Thailand could be especially hard hit as about 7 per cent of its gross domestic product is based on tourism.

Apparently, no single episode can lift the gloom. When orphan Keigo Sato started his search for his long-lost Japanese father, Katsumi, and won huge media coverage, some hoped that would boost Thailand's image among Japanese tourists.

It could. A Japanese manga publisher has contacted Keigo to produce a comic book to relay his life story to Japanese readers. His dream has come true as Katsumi is due to visit Thailand later this year.

(Unfortunately, when many other orphans emerged with a similar quest, the media's focus had shifted, probably due to the birth of the baby panda.)

But would Keigo's saga benefit the tourism industry? Certainly, it could, but not for some irresponsible Japanese guys who deserted their children. It would also be undesirable for them to come to Thailand. What if a girl or a boy approaches them, carrying their photos, when they visit a temple with their families? That would create a scene.

It's too bad that Japan could not lend us something as precious as pandas. Or their cute cubs would help draw tourists from Japan, like what Thailand is doing with China's pandas.