ID :
315000
Sat, 01/25/2014 - 12:31
Auther :

KRC:Persistent protests affect Thai tourism

BANGKOK, January 25 (TNA) - The independent Kasikorn Research Centre (KRC) has warned that prolonged anti-government protests are affecting Thailand's tourism-related businesses. The KRC said on Saturday that the so-called "Bangkok shutdown" launched by anti-government protesters since January 13, 2014 in a bid to oust the caretaker government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the emergency decree, issued by the caretaker administration and enforced 60 days in all areas in the capital and some areas in its surrounding provinces as of January 22, would affect Thai tourism-related businesses more than earlier projections. The Bangkok-based research firm assessed if the ongoing anti-government protests continued until the end of the first quarter this year, the number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand should drop by about 500,000 to 28.5 million, while the country's total tourism revenue this year should drop by 20 billion baht from earlier projection, to 1.38 trillion baht. According to the leading private think tank, if the anti-government protests were dragged on until mid-2014, the number of international tourist visitors to Thailand should even fall by about one million to 28 million people, while the country's total tourism revenue should stand at 1.35 trillion baht, down 50 billion baht. The KRC urged state offices and the general public to seriously cooperate to find a solution to the current domestic political turbulence in order to restore normalcy as soon as possible, which will also help Thailand from losing a good opportunity in earning more tourism-related revenues, as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will be formed by 2015. (TNA)

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