SARS fears sap life out of Thai tourism<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Bangkok<\/p>\n
Wanchai Lerdnirundon does not have much to do these days, except
\nstare out to sea from his deck chair on the unusually deserted
\nbeach in Pattaya.<\/p>\n
With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) scaring tourists
\naway from Thai vacation spots, there are hardly any takers for
\nWanchai's 10 boats, which ferry visitors to outlying islands.<\/p>\n
"Normally, there would be 100 customers daily. But since
\nMarch, the best I can get is only one group of tourists per week,
\nor only four to five people," Wanchai, 43, said last week.<\/p>\n
He recently laid off 50 of his 60 employees, with those still
\nat work having their wages halved.<\/p>\n
"If they can stand the condition, good. If not, they are free
\nto go," sighed Wanchai.<\/p>\n
"This whole SARS thing, it's worse than the war in Iraq."<\/p>\n
The first vague reports of SARS cases in China and Hong Kong
\nin March fueled a fear of travel throughout the region. The
\nTourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) noted that in March, the
\nnumber of tourist arrivals dropped about 11 percent -- equivalent
\nto some 300,000 arrivals -- compared to the same period last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
In April, the situation worsened with a 50 percent drop, and
\nthe figure was believed to be 52 percent in May.<\/p>\n
The downturn is despite the fact that both the country's cases
\nwere contracted outside the country, and that the World Health
\nOrganization (WHO) has declared Thailand a SARS-free nation.<\/p>\n
"This (May) is the worst month we've had," TAT's research and
\nstatistics division head Walailak Noypayak told a visiting
\ncontingent of Indonesian reporters recently.<\/p>\n
"The World Tourism and Cultural Council said that the impact
\nof SARS on Asian countries is five times higher than Sept. 11. If
\nthere is no campaign to help recover the situation, we will lose
\nabout 30 billion baht (about US$726.4 million)."<\/p>\n
Tourism is the second highest foreign exchange earner for
\nThailand after computer parts. Like most Asian countries, it
\nplunged into the region-wide economic crisis in 1998, but it had
\nan increase of about 7 percent in the number of tourist arrivals.<\/p>\n
In 2001, despite the global travel downturn after the Sept. 11
\nattacks, it recorded a 6 percent gain in tourist numbers.<\/p>\n
Last year, it earned 323 billion baht from a total of 10.79
\nmillion tourists, 60 percent of them Asians. While the concerted
\nefforts to draw Asian visitors in the wake of Sept. 11 paid off,
\nthey backfired when SARS struck Asia first.<\/p>\n
Occupancy at hotels in Pattaya and Phuket, for instance, is
\nhovering around 20 percent-30 percent, compared to the usual 75
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Thai Airways has also suffered; as of May 30, the company
\nrecorded a decline of 300,000 passengers, losing an estimated
\nfive billion baht from April through May.<\/p>\n
Passengers were not the only ones afraid of flying. Media
\nreports also left airline crews nervous, and an education
\ncampaign was launched, explained Suraphon Israngura Na Ayuthya
\nfrom Thai Airways' crisis management and operations center.<\/p>\n
"Now that the crews are no longer afraid, they are asking to
\nfly. Unfortunately, they can't because their schedules have been
\nreduced as we had to cancel thousands of flights last month."<\/p>\n
The airline is looking for alternative destinations from SARS-
\naffected countries by conducting campaigns and promotions for
\nAustralia, Europe, India and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Walailak blames some in the media for scare-mongering.<\/p>\n
"It's not Asian media, but that kind of media that are more
\ninterested in worldwide news..the 24-hour reports where we are
\nall connected by satellite. It makes people fearful..of life."<\/p>\n
On the agenda now is bringing tourism back to full health,
\nwith a crisis team holding weekly meetings.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Public Health also established a SARS
\ninformation center, to which airlines, agencies and other parties
\nhave to report the latest developments. The center publishes a
\ndaily press release updating the situation.<\/p>\n
"Whether the press will be interested to use it on that day or
\nnow, we still publish it. Or else, we get a lot of rumors and
\npanic like in the previous months," said Supamit Chunsuttiwat
\nfrom the ministry's disease control department.<\/p>\n
In working with the airport, the ministry installed equipment
\nand assigned medical staff to conduct screening at the arrival
\ngates for passengers from affected countries.<\/p>\n
"And at least starting June 15, we will also have predeparture
\nscreening," Supamit said.<\/p>\n
The ministry has set out to strengthen the services of all
\nhospitals in the country to deal with SARS cases. The government
\nhas also allocated an additional 600 million baht to help
\nstimulate the tourism industry, with prime minister Thaksin
\nShinawatra offering compensation of one million baht to anyone
\nwho contracts the disease in Thailand.<\/p>\n
TAT has teamed up with Thai Airways, the Thai Hotels
\nAssociation and Association of Thai Travel Agents for a special
\ntour package called "Thailand Smile Plus".<\/p>\n
It offers a free-stay night for every one night paid for, as
\nwell as discounts of between 20 percent to 50 percent at golf
\ncourses, spas and resorts. There is also a lucky draw.<\/p>\n
TAT is also promoting the domestic market through its "Unseen
\nThailand" campaign, and holding road shows in Japan, Australia
\nand New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Thai Airways has made hygiene a paramount focus, with a plan
\nto install the most technologically advanced air-cleaning
\nequipment.<\/p>\n
"The problem at the moment is the fear itself, not the
\ndisease," Wailalak said. "We must realize that this disease is a
\nfact of life. The media has the important role to tell people
\nthat SARS is not as dangerous as we expect."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sars-fears-sap-life-out-of-thai-tourism-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}