BANGKOK, Thailand (2 Jan 2007) -- Thailand's tourism minister said a series of bomb blasts in Bangkok will have a ``significant impact'' on visitor arrivals, the latest setback for an industry still recovering from the 2004 tsunami and a September military coup. ``There are several overseas tourists canceling their bookings to Thailand,'' Suvit Yodmani, the minister of tourism and sport, said in comments broadcast by state-controlled Channel 9 television yesterday. ``In the short term, we admit the bombs will have a significant impact.'' The blasts, which killed three people and injured 38 including nine foreigners, may threaten the government's plan to boost tourism revenue by 13 percent this year. Thailand is relying on exports and tourism to spur economic growth as investment slows because of high oil prices and political turmoil. ``In the short run, it will be a negative for the country, for tourism'' said Ken Hu, who helps manage $100 billion of assets at First State Investments in Hong Kong. ``The key is if there are no repeats of those attacks.'' The first of the eight bombs that exploded in the capital on New Year's eve occurred at about 6 p.m. Bangkok time at the Victory monument, a hub for local bus services, said Police General Achiravit Suphanphesat. It was followed within 40 minutes by four more in the center of the capital and one on the outskirts, he said. Two bombs exploded at about midnight at a public phone booth and road in front of the Central World shopping mall. Vigilance Australia and the U.K. warned their citizens of possible further attacks, while the U.S. urged extra vigilance in Bangkok. Japan advised citizens visiting Thailand to avoid crowded areas. ``On cruise control, the Thai gross domestic product can probably grow 4 percent to 5 percent,'' said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. ``Now you have the context of a deteriorating security environment, which investors don't like and tourists don't like.'' The Asian Development Bank in December cut its 2007 growth forecast for Thailand's economy, Southeast Asia's second largest, to 4.5 percent from 5.5 percent. The government's National Economic and Social Development Board on Dec. 4 raised its 2006 growth forecast to 5 percent, from its previous estimate of 4.7 percent. The economy expanded 4.5 percent in 2005. The Tourism Authority of Thailand in November estimated tourism revenue would rise to 547.5 billion baht ($15 billion) in 2007, from 486.3 billion baht forecast last year. Arrivals were predicted to climb to 14.8 million from 13.8 million. Overseas visitors were expected to shrug off unrest in the south, where insurgents have escalated a campaign for an independent Islamic state, and a Sept. 19 coup in which the military ousted the government of Thaksin Shinawatra and installed a prime minister and cabinet. | | A tourist is helped by medical staff after being injured in a bomb explosion in Bangkok. Three people were killed and at least 30 more were injured, including nine foreigners, in a wave of New Year bombings across the capital of military-ruled Thailand. Southern Provinces Bomb attacks and shootings in Thailand occur most frequently in southern provinces bordering Malaysia, claiming more than 1,200 lives since January 2004. On Sept. 16, four people were killed and 79 injured in blasts that ripped through central Hat Yai in Songkhla province. The bombings in Bangkok, a popular destination for travelers in Southeast Asia, threaten the tourism industry's recovery from a December 2004 tsunami that killed 5,395 people in the country, about half of them tourists. ``It's hard to estimate at this point what will happen to the Thai tourism sector,'' said Philip Wee, senior currency economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore. The magnitude of the ``bombings and other details are not clear yet,'' he said. No Suspects Thai police and the army set up checkpoints on major roads, and at government offices and shopping malls in Bangkok, government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said yesterday. Police don't have any suspects yet, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, he said. Ascott Group Ltd., Asia's biggest serviced-apartment operator, reported no immediate cancellations at its properties in Thailand, which cater mostly to expatriates and the business community. ``Most of our guests are long-stay residents,'' said Ascott Chief Executive Officer Cameron Ong, in comments made available through a spokesman. ``We have heightened security at our properties.'' SOURCE - Bloomberg |
