The Bangkok Post, Thailand’s English newspaper reported today that the tourism industry has hit a 49 year low and this is expected to plunge another 22 percent before the year is over. Since tourism is one of the largest economic factors in Thailand, if this story is true than it is not good for the economy of Thailand. I understand that the whole world is in a recession and that is part of the problem in Thailand, but if we look at the big picture there is more to the story than the world economy.
I don’t know where it started or where it will end, but I know some things that have contributed to this problem. The one thing that comes to mind first is the political problems that have plaque Thailand recently. I began following this story after the takeover in 2006. The former Prime Minister, Mr. Thaksin came to power and many believed he obtained his position through corruption, mainly for buying votes from the poor in the rural areas of northern Thailand.
After a couple of other prime ministers, then a man named Mr. Somchai came to power. However he was labeled as a puppet of Thaksin and the “Yellow Shirt” protest began. The protest began at the government buildings and then gained strength and spread to the two international airports in Bangkok. This protest shut down both airports, and travelers and tourists were stranded for days. Somchai was eventually ousted from power.
The next and current prime minister, Mr. Abhisit came into office, but it has not been easy for him to hold onto power. The “Red Shirts” began protesting just as the “Yellow Shirts”, they broke up the ASEAN meetings because of a lack of security and began beating Mr. Abhisit car as it sped by at the protesters. The lack of security at this meeting, where heads of states from many countries had to flee the area, proved Thailand could not control the people and provide enough security in sensitive situations. Mr. Abhisit called for a state of emergency and troops were dispatched to areas around Bangkok to keep peace. There are still protests going on in Thailand, but recently they have been on a smaller scale.
The Swine Flu that invaded Thailand is another reason for the drop of tourism. People just want to stay away from confined areas for long periods of time and want to stay away from crowds. With the prediction of the number of cases doubling, people are deciding it is better to stay at home rather than travel to another country for vacation.
With all these problems, tourism is going to drop. How will Thailand respond to the problems? They have tried as couple things, including waiving the tourist visa fee, but most people are not aware of this until they arrive to get their visa and they already had plans to visit the country. The future will show how Thailand responds. It is not going to be easy for the tourist industry to get back to where it was in the recent past. There are many internal and external factors working against Thailand recovering anytime soon.
