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Tourism
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2007-01-02 00:17:55-05
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Bangkok bombings to impact Thailand's foreign tourism from mid-2007
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Bangkok, Jan 2: Thailand's tourism minister said a series of bomb blasts in Bangkok on New Year's eve will have a significant impact on the tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2004 tsunami and a military coup last year. Eight explosions in various parts of the city Sunday killed three Thai nationals and injured nine foreign tourists. Several countries, including Britain, the United States and Australia, issued warnings to tourists advising them to avoid public places and remain alert. Security has been beefed up in the busy capital as people started to return to the city. Policemen and security guards are present in large numbers as people are coming back from the New Year holidays. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the explosions, but the new government, appointed after the 19 September coup against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, hinted that politicians "who had lost power" were responsible. Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) president Anek Srichivachart said that so far no foreign tourists had cancelled their planned visits to Thailand as a result of New Year's Eve explosions, but government offices and private businesses will reopen tomorrow after the four-day New Year holiday and may receive news of some cancellations , reports TNA. If Sunday's incidents do not linger in the headlines and do not continue to take place, then the impact could be minimal, he said. Anek said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tourism Authority of Thailand should work together with private tourism organisations and join hands to compile information and distribute it worldwide to bolster confidence among foreign tourists planning to visit the Kingdom. He said that tourism would be affected by news and perceptions of violence in Bangkok, but unless such violence continued, it would not be major. Earlier projections estimated that revenue from tourism this year would be 540 billion baht which would be spent by about 16 million people.
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