The deadly Myanmar earthquake is set to hurt foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand in the coming weeks, the latest blow to an industry already reeling from dwindling Chinese visitors worried about travel safety.
International tourist arrivals are expected to drop by 10 per cent-15 per cent or even more in the next two weeks as Friday’s 7.7 earthquake shook buildings in Bangkok and other Thai tourist hot spots, spooking prospective travelers, the Thai Hotels Association said.
About 10 per cent of foreign tourists checked out early after the quake, said Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, president of the association, citing an initial survey among the group’s members. Some tourists, however, later returned to their hotels as they had no other options, he said.
“A short-term impact is expected for the tourism industry because of safety concerns,” Thienprasit said by phone on Saturday.
Even a short-lived impact on tourist arrivals will hurt an economy where the industry employs one in five of the country’s workforce and accounts for about 13 per cent of gross domestic product. Thai authorities are betting on an improved tourism performance to propel growth to 3% this year as merchandise exports, another key driver of growth, faces headwinds from the Trump administration’s trade tariffs.
Thai authorities have in the meantime reassured foreign tourists. The country is safe for tourists, Minister of Tourism and Sports Sorawong Thienthong said Saturday, adding that the government has ordered a safety audit of hotels and major tourist attractions.
While the earthquake rattled buildings across Bangkok, leading to mass evacuations and suspension of public transport for a day, damage to the city’s buildings and infrastructure was minimal in contrast to the massive destruction in Myanmar.
A total of 18 died from the quake, including 11 workers from the collapse of a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok, the biggest hit from the temblor. Dozens remain trapped under its debris, and 33 were injured.
To be sure, tourist arrivals were already on the decline due to safety concerns in recent months. A series of high-profile human trafficking to scam centers in Myanmar via Thailand prompted some travelers from China, Thailand’s largest source for tourists, to shun the Southeast Asian nation.
