Minister:MERS-CoV will not affect Thai tourism

BANGKOK, June 23 (TNA) - Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul says that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) should not pose any negative impact on the domestic tourism during the high-season late this year. Kobkarn expressed the optimism on Tuesday, pointing out that advance hotel bookings in Thailand by international travellers have kept rising with no cancelation so far. According to the minister, the number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand has increased by about 20 per cent monthly. Meanwhile, health authorities confirmed that there has been only one MERS-CoV patient in Thailand so far, a 75-year-old Omani man, who has been steadily recovering, showing that the situation in the country has remained under control. (TNA)