Thailand - Thailand tourism surging ahead

Thailand’s tourism industry, which was severely affected by major flooding late last year, is bouncing back, as seen from the countless tourists from various countries who have been flocking to the country.

The steady inflow of foreign guests is due mainly to various efforts launched by the Thai government to attract visitors immediately after the flooding — which killed more than 800 and covered nearly one-third of the country — subsided.

Those efforts include, among others, New Year’s events in Bangkok and other cities across Thailand, Chinese New Year’s celebrations throughout the month and the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek horticulture exhibition in Chiang Mai until mid-March.

“While it was unfortunate that the recent floods affected many Thai people, it actually had a minor impact on the kingdom’s tourism infrastructure,” Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism and Sports Chumpol Silapa-archa said at a meeting with media representatives and tour agents from Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok in mid-December.

The key tourist destination affected by Thailand’s worst floods in almost 60 years was the famous Ayutthaya Historical Park, but the site has since been cleaned and tourists are returning, Chumpol said.

The Ayutthaya World Heritage site, filled with structures dating back to as early as the 14th century, was submerged during the flooding in Ayutthaya province along the Chao Phraya River, where some of the biggest Japanese factories, including Honda and Toyota, are located.

Barriers protecting industrial estates against the floods in the area failed, inundating historic sites and dozens of major factories and disrupting nationwide manufacturing supply chains. The provincial administration was also forced to evacuate thousands of its residents trapped in the flooding to safer locations.

During a visit to Ayutthaya on Dec. 15, 2011, the flooding in many parts of the province had not fully subsided. Even though roads connecting cities in the province were fully operational, vast rice fields were still submerged.

The Bangsai Arts and Crafts Center, established under the support of Queen Sirikit of Thailand in 1984, opened again on Dec. 1, 2011, to accommodate poor youth and enable them to earn a living. The center had been utilized as a temporary evacuation site for flood victims.

“The center used to house nearly 3,000 flood victims, many for nearly one month, during the flooding,” said Achana Bangpiendee, chief receptionist of the center.

The floods, caused by nonstop rainfall in the north and central parts of the country for three months, affected not only Ayutthaya but also other provinces in the central region. Some of the outer suburbs of Bangkok were said to be the worst affected.

“We believe that the flooding is now over and most of the tourist attractions and services in the areas that were flooded are operational and ready to welcome visitors,” Deputy Prime Minister Chumpol said.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization have also confirmed that Thailand had no disease outbreaks or increased health risks as a result of the floods.

“Our major focus now is on restoring tourists’ confidence in Thailand,” the deputy prime minister said, adding that the Thai government strongly values and supports the recovery of the tourism industry and has allocated a special budget to help restore the industry.

Thai tourism has proven its ability to bounce back when faced with similar situations in the past. “This is due to the uniqueness and quality of our tourism products and the strength of the Thailand brand,” Chumpol said.

Tourism plays a key role in providing revenue and employment in the country. It contributes 6 percent of the kingdom’s GDP and provides more than 2 million jobs, according to data from the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

“During the first 11 months of last year, Thailand welcomed 17.1 million foreign tourists,” he said. And despite the crippling floods, Thailand recorded 19 million tourists in 2011, an increase of over 16 percent from the previous year, data from the Thai Department of Tourism shows.

During the floods from October to November, Thailand lost at least 310,000 foreign tourists, Sonsern Ngaorungsi, deputy governor for international marketing for Asia and the South Pacific from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said.

“The number of cancellations of tourist visits reached 40,700 in October and jumped to 274,000 in November,” he said.

Sonsern said the cancellations were unfortunate, as most of the tourism infrastructure, including major tourist sites in Bangkok, was not affected by the flooding.

“Suvarnabhumi International Airport and also our subway system in Bangkok, for example, were not affected,” he said, adding that out of 50 districts in Bangkok, less than 20 were inundated. The others, including areas downtown and tourism centers, were not flooded at all.

In order to erase the bad image from the natural disaster and to bury bad memories of the flooding, Thailand’s official tourism body, the TAT, is now aggressively campaigning and promoting the country’s tourism potential all over the world.

TAT is setting itself an ambitious target of attracting more than 20 million foreign tourists this year.

Hyginus Hardoyo

The Jakarta Post, Bangkok

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