Flood to cost at least 500 mln USD on Thai tourism

The tourist industry of Thailand is expected to lose 520 million U.S. dollars to 825 million U.S. dollars as a result of the wide-spread flood, Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT), said here on Tuesday. Supraphon analyzed the impact of flooding in two scenarios. "If the flood situation is resolved at the end of November, estimated losses to tourism will be 520 million U.S. dollars, with 245 million in revenue lost from domestic trips and 275 million from international tourism," he said during a meeting with foreign correspondents. "If it is resolved at the end of December, estimated losses could reach a total of 825 million U.S. dollars, with 387 million lost from international tourism and 438 million from domestic tourism," he added. Although the loss might be staggering, the TAT governor tried to tone down the impact of floods. He said flood waters mainly affect the central provinces along the Chao Phraya River including Bangkok and Ayutthaya, but tourist resorts like Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket are flood-free and ready to receive more tourists. He predicted that around 1.2 million Chinese tourists would visit Thailand this year, lower than the previous projection of 1. 5 million.