Thai Tourism Survives Bird flu

BANGKOK - The airlines and five-star hotels appear to be fully booked, the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha are filled with visitors and the night market in the Patpong red-light district is crowded. These scenes here in the Thai capital convey the message that the worst fears that bird flu would seriously hurt tourist arrivals into the country did not really happen.

Official statistics show that from January to October 2007, Thailand received 11.58 million tourists, or 3.88 percent more than during the same period in 2006. In 2006, there were 13.82 million tourists – bringing annual earnings to 482.32 billion Thai baht or a 31.29 percent increase from 2005.

While the rate of growth of tourist arrivals for all of 2007 was below trends in recent years, the Tourism Authority of Thailand reported that the country still had 14.5 million tourists.

Indeed, there is a ceaseless flow of foreign visitors that heads for this Buddhist nation all year round. The tourism industry accounts for about 7 percent of GDP and is the biggest source of the country’s foreign exchange.

Looking back however, the bird flu outbreak in 2004 – the year that Thailand reported its first human case of avian flu – appears to have had some impact on tourism. Statistics from the tourism authority show that the number of tourists dropped by 15 percent in February 2004, compared to the same period in the previous year.

The year 2004 was the worst for Thailand in terms of human deaths from bird flu. Of the 17 human cases of avian flu that year, 12 resulted in deaths, according to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO). But the early fears dissipated over time, as reports of human cases of bird flu became fewer and countries like Thailand dealt with the issue. Human cases of bird flu in Thailand fell in 2005 to five, of which two led to deaths, and in 2006 to three, all of whom died.

Interviews reveal some insights into how Thailand’s tourism business fared in the last few years. “Since the latter half of 2004, there have been more and more customers in our shop,” said the owner of a photo shop near the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha or Wat Pho in old Bangkok, among the most popular spots for tourists.

Sanam Luang, the square in front of the Grand Palace, had a throng of visitors, looking somewhat like the equally crowded Wangfujing Street in Beijing. “To tell you the truth, we were very much scared (of bird flu) at first and business was affected. But it died down six months later. Now, we are not scared any more,” said the shopowner.

But Workul, who sells tickets at the entrance of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, thinks otherwise. He says fewer tourists visited the temple in 2007 compared to the year before that, but believes this has nothing to do with bird flu. The cause, he points out, is the political situation stemming from the aftermath of the September 2006 coup in Thailand, which compounded the impact of the appreciation of Thai baht.

Over at the Dusit Thani Hotel, one of the many five-star hotels in Bangkok, a senior hotel manager recalled: “When bird flu broke out in 2004, 30 percent of the visitors cancelled their bookings,” he said. “We suffered great losses. But in 2005 and 2006, the number of visitors grew and in 2007 the number of visitors reached the peak, 30 percent more than in 2006, and our income also grew.” Visitors no longer take bird flu into consideration when they come book hotel accommodations, another senior staffer remarked.

But avian flu seems to have hardly ruffled a feather in other sections of the tourist industry. For instance, Somran, a receptionist at the Thai Youth Hostel, whose clients are mostly young people from all over who book through the Internet, was a bit surprised to be asked about bird flu. He says the number of hostel visitors in 2007 has so far grown by five to 10 percent, compared to 2006.

“Bird flu? Our hostel has not been affected by it. When there are reports of bird flu, we stop eating chicken and duck. Then after it is brought under control, we eat them again -- but well-cooked ones,” he quipped.

(*This article, produced under the Imaging Our Mekong media fellowship programme 2007-08 was also published in ‘China Youth Daily’.)
 
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