TRIS:Thai tourism normally recovers quickly after crises

BANGKOK, January 24 (TNA) - Thai Rating and Information Services Co., Ltd. (TRIS), Thailand's first credit rating agency, says that the Thai tourism has normally recovered quickly after crises. TRIS President Santi Kiranand cited such incidents in Thailand as the coup d’etat in 2006, political unrest from 2008-2010 and severe flooding in late 2011 as examples, saying that hotel occupancy rate dropped to about 50 per cent in 2009-2010 but rose to its normal level at about 60 per cent in 2012-2013 and the number of foreign tourists significantly increased from 14-15 million annually from 2007-2010 to 19.2 million in 2011 and more than 22 million in 2012-2013. Santi warned, however, that prolonged domestic political disturbances would have negative impacts on hotels and tourism-related businesses in Thailand and the caretaker government’s imposition of the emergency decree shakes the confidence of international visitors, especially those from East Asia who now form as much as 60 per cent of foreign tourists in Thailand. As demonstrations have been mainly continued in Bangkok and nearby provinces, the TRIS president pointed out that they have mostly affected business operators whose substantial revenues come from hotels in Bangkok. The TRIS president quoted the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as assessing that the occupancy rate of hotels in Bangkok should fall by 30-40 per cent in the first quarter of this year. According to the TRIS president, domestic political disturbances are also affecting airlines, with the number of passengers of Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, alone having dropped since street political protests began late last year. The TRIS president projected if domestic political problems were resolved within the first half of this year, there would not be a significant impact on credit ratings of the business operators that are TRIS clients. TRIS, meanwhile, has not changed credit ratings of hotels and tourism-related businesses in Thailand that are its clients, noting that the rating of Central Plaza Hotel is at “A” with “Stable” outlook, Dusit Thani at “BBB+” with “Stable” outlook, Minor International at “A/Stable” and THAI at “A+” with “Negative” outlook.(TNA)