Thailand Tourism and the Floods

Suraphon Svetasreni, the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (left); Akapol Sorasuchart, the president of the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (right).

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. November 7, 2011. It is only within the last 10 days that the flooding in Thailand has started to adversely affect the large tourism industry, which accounts for about 10% of GDP. In fact, during October, foreign arrivals increased over October of last year by 6.7%. Not so, however, during the first days of November, during which tourism is already down 25%, with substantial cancellations reported for the coming weeks and months.

Suraphon Svetasreni, the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, an arm of the Thai government, addressed the FCCT and answered questions. The thrust of his remarks was that many of the very popular tourist destinations in Thailand, such as Phuket, Chaing Mai, Krabi, and Koh Samui, are unaffected by the floods, and that all international airports in Thailand, including the main Suvumphani airport in Bangkok, are fully operational, and that all transportation links between the airports and the areas they serve, are undisturbed. In Kh. Suraphon’s view, most tourists can look forward to a trouble-free and pleasurable experience in the Kingdom, and do not have to cancel or delay their trips. As for those areas under water, such as Bangkok and Ayuthaya, Kh. Suraphon is not urging travel there at this time.

In spite of his honest efforts to portray Thailand as a safe tourist destination, troublesome questions of safety remain, most of them being brought out by the press’s questioning, and chief among them, are questions about the reliability and sustainability of the water supply, the interruptions in the distribution of food, and the serious health hazards arising from stagnant, polluted and foul smelling water. In answer to a direct question from a persistent French reporter, Kh. Suraphon would not say that Bangkok was safe, nor that it was unsafe, and in this regard, he joins the rest of us living here: we just don’t know.

Many countries have advisory warnings of various levels of severity, against traveling to Thailand. My personal opinion is that it is unwise for tourists to venture here at this time. There are so many wonderful places to visit in the world, that there is no reason to risk spoiling or marring a vacation to come to Thailand. Thailand will recover from the monumental floods and, as stated by Kh. Suraphon, Thailand’s resilient tourist industry will be the first to recover.