Thai tourism will be badly hit if Hong Kong airport mayhem continues

The mayhem at the Hong Kong airport could cost Thailand tourism 1.4 billion baht in lost income according to the Kasikorn Research Centre.

The centre estimates the Thai tourism industry would be adversely hit if flights from Hong Kong are disrupted for more than seven days and notes that the number of flights cancelled, heading to Thailand, have already cost Thailand tourism numbers.

“This is high season for Hong Kong tourists to visit Thailand, because school closes for summer in August there. Thailand has been getting anything from 4,200 to 5,000 visitors from Hong Kong every day this month.”

“If the airport is shut for seven days, we will lose up to 30,000 visitors.”

Last year, 1.02 million people from Hong Kong visited Thailand, representing 2.65% of the market share, resulting in an income of 42 billion baht.

Flights from Hong Kong were cancelled for a second day when protesters took over the airport on Tuesday afternoon, after it had opened earlier in the day to start rescheduling flights. As of this story the flights are slowly returning to normal with a small band of protesters still at the airport.

SOURCE: The Nation