BANGKOK, 27 February 2014 The Tourism Council of Thailand deems that the increase in violence associated with political rallies has negatively affected the confidence of foreign tourists from Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
According to the council, tourists from these markets travel in group tours, and they have been making cancellation of their trips to Thailand and diverting instead to nearby countries. Several countries have also been raising their travel safety warning level to their citizens, concerning visits to Thailand. 48 countries advised that their citizens exercise special precaution, whereas Hong Kong has raised its warning color code to ‘black’ level, meaning that a visit would incur significant hazard and all visits should be avoided.
As a result, the council expects to see 1.1 million fewer tourists in the first quarter of the year, consequently causing a drop of 80 billion baht in income for the tourism industry. The council also believes the political crisis will have adverse effects on the tourism scene in the second quarter.
