BANGKOK – Thailand’s tourism sector plans a big event to send moral support to Chinese people and will offer very big discounts to encourage Thai people to travel in the country amid the heavy impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Chairat Trirattanajarasporn, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said about 3,000 representatives of the Thai tourism sector will gather on March 1 for the event to send moral support and best regards to people in COVID-19-affected China.
The event will include a concert by Chinese and Thai artists, a candle-lit ceremony and a bouquet presentation to the Chinese ambassador to Bangkok to send moral support to China and extend best wishes for Chinese people to pass through the virus crisis in the near future, he said.
Mr Chairat also said that tourism-related operators would offer big discounts of at least 50% on air tickets, restaurants and hotels to stimulate domestic tours as much as they could, especially during the Songkran festival. The details of the discounts would be concluded within this week, he said.
The president of the Tourism Council of Thailand also asked the government to give assistance to the tourism sector, boost confidence among tourists and set up a fund to help the tourism sector which, according to histories, suffered a crisis every decade. Past crises were wars, epidemics and natural disasters, Mr Chairat said.