BANGKOK, Thailand – The Tourism Council of Thailand has estimated that the Thai tourism sector has lost 82 billion baht since anti-government protests took place in Bangkok and called on the government to lift the Emergency Decree.
President of the Tourism Council of Thailand Piyamarn Techapaiboon said on Monday that the country was expected to lose over 1.7 million tourists in the first quarter of this year due to the political problems. She also suggested that the Emergency Decree should be revoked since it affected tourist confidence.
The council will revise tourism revenue and arrivals targets for this year in the next two weeks after the anti-government Peopleโs Democratic Reform Committee canceled its mass protests at major junctions in Bangkok.
The Tourism Council of Thailand earlier estimated that this yearโs tourism revenue will stand at two trillion baht, a 8% increase from the previous year, and set the tourist arrivals target at 28-29 million people, higher than the 2013 target of 26.8 million people.