BANGKOK, 12 June 2015 – Thailand’s tourism sector remains unaffected from the spread of MERS-CoV virus in South Korea, while agencies are seeking to a issue notice to their members as a form of prevention measure, says the MOTS Minister.
The Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul has revealed that the MOTS has been closely monitoring the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and is confident in the Ministry of Public Health’s prevention methods.
She has said that the epidemic has not caused any negative effects to the tourism sector in Thailand, as the Ministry has been working with all agencies on disease prevention.
Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA)’s Vice President Krichanat Meesamran has said that he will discuss with the TTAA President on notifying agency members on effective prevention methods of the MERS-CoV, including safety precautions, taking care of travelers’ sanitation, and advices on routes that should be avoided when travelling to South Korea.
About 166,000 travelers from Thailand had visited South Korea this year from January to April, which is a 6 percent growth from last year. 374,000 travellers from South Korea have visited Thailand from January to March this year, which is a 18.7 percent growth. South Korean travelers to Thailand is ranked at the 6th position after Chinese, Japanese, North American, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong tourists.
