Emergency decree fears for Bangkok tourism
Bangkok’s inbound tourism sector is becoming increasing concerned by the impact of the country’s state of emergency on visitor arrivals.
Chidchai Sakornbadee, vice president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), has told the The Nation newspaper that the number of foreign arrivals has "consistently decreased" since the anti-government political protests began in November.
"The (emergency) decree will surely aggravate that decline," Chidchai said.
There are particular fears that the emergency decree might prompt the China National Tourism Administration to consider ordering operators in that country not to bring customers to Thailand for fear of escalating violence.
The Thai army continues to keep its distance from the protests but has warned it will step in if violence increases.
A spokesperson for the Thai Hotels Association said hotel occupancy rates were remaining steady although that could change if advance bookings for Chinese New Year, mostly by Chinese nationals, were cancelled.
In its latest situation update, the Tourism Authority of Thailand stressed that the emergency decree "only covers Bangkok and some parts of nearby provinces" and "there is currently no curfew in place in Bangkok or any other parts of Thailand".
Ian Jarrett
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