Thai tourism affected by protests

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-13-2009 13:25

As the situation in Thailand worsens, many countries have issued travel advisories for Thailand, especially after the Thai prime minister declared a state of emergency on Sunday.

Thailand earns about 15 billion US dollars annually from  tourism. And in a normal year about 14 million foreign  tourists visit the country.

Chinese tourism agencies say Chinese tourists have been safe in Thailand. But to ensure the continued safety of tourists, many agencies have made preparations to help tourists immediately return to China. But so far, that has not been necessary.

Late last year, the closure of Bangkok's two main airports resulted in losses of an estimated 3.7 billion US dollars. Thailand's tourism authorities say the disorder in the resort town of Pattaya will result in losses on the same scale. They say the situation will not only affect Pattaya, but the entire tourism industry and that the instability will continue to bring down the sector over the next six to nine months.

Thailand earns about 15 billion US dollars annually from tourism. And in a normal year about 14 million foreign tourists visit the country.

Editor:Zhang Ning