Thai floods slash tourism income by 1.1 bln U.S. dollars

The tourism industry of Thailand in the second half of this year has been widely affected by floods and the deluge will lower the projection of tourist number by 8.7 million, according to a report issued by Kasikorn Bank Research Center Thursday. As the worst floods in over 50 years have lashed the country since late July, swamping most of the areas in northern, northeastern, central Thailand and the capital Bangkok, the number of holiday makers is anticipated to decrease from original 105 million to 96.3 million, the report said. The expected income from the tourism industry were also reduced from 415 billion baht (13.4 billion U.S. dollars) to 380 billion baht (12.3 billion U.S. dollars), according to the report. The research center forecast that the tourism industry will start to recover in the second quarter of next year. In total, 64 out of 77 provinces have been inundated by the floods which so far have affected around 13 million people and left 567 dead.