Tourism leaders in Thailand have urged the industry to prepare risk-management plans to cope with any further instability following last year’s floods.
“Rebuilding tourism is not just putting more effort into marketing and strategy, but also into prevention and rehabilitation,” said Kongkrit Hiranyakit, president for policy and planning at the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT).
Thailand’s image overseas as a country at high risk of natural disasters, the economic meltdown in Europe and internal political strife are all issues that will cast a cloud on the Thai hospitality scene through 2012, he said.
“All parties must develop specific plans to deal with these issues, besides making adjustments to marketing activities and strategic plans,†Kongkrit told The Nation newspaper.
Even though arrivals are still climbing, Thailand’s market share of international visitors in Southeast Asia has slipped from 36 percent in 2003 to 30 percent in 2010
The TCT has urged the government to establish a Tourism Risk Fund to take care of tourists “so that they continue coming back even during difficult timesâ€.
