Hoteliers say Thailand lost Bt200bn in tourism earnings

BANGKOK, April 11 (TNA) - Saturday’s abrupt cancellation of this weekend’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and last year’s airport closures will cut Thai tourism earnings by at least Bt200 billion, Kongkit Hiranyakij, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand said Saturday. Mr. Kongkit said the losses from the anti-government protesters from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) storming into the Pattaya hotel conference venue where the summit was being held is no less than losses from the closure of airports by UDD’s rival Peoples' Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in November and December. Shortly after UDD protesters swept into the hotel, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced the cancellation of the summit and the imposition of a state of emergency in Pattaya and the nearby provincial seat of Chon Buri. The announcement was telecast live. Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the ASEAN meeting has been postponed indefinitely. Foreign tourists will not have confidence to travel to Thailand now after several government leaders attending the summit were unable to leave their hotels, Mr. Kongkit lamented. Thai Hotels Association President Prakit Chinamornpong said it is now useless to hold overseas roadshows because no tourists will want to visit Thailand due to the lack of security. Echoing a similar view was Apichart Sangaree, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents. He said what the protesters did on Saturday had damaged the country a lot while security measures were absolutely useless and no one would want to organise major conferences in Thailand in future. “The low season is expected to hit Thailand throughout this year,” complained Mr. Apichart. Meanwhile, Thanawat Palavichai, director of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) Economic and Business Forecasting Center said that the Thai economy will likely shrink 4-5 per cent this year after the protesters stormed the summit venue.