Thailand: Zika to not heavily impact tourism industry
The confirmation of two Zika-linked microcephaly cases in Thailand is not likely to scare off large numbers of Chinese tourists due to jet in for holidays next week, industry operators said.
A worker fumigates an area in Bangkok (Photo: EPA/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)🦋 – The confirmation of two Zika-linked microcephaly cases in Thailand is not likely to scare off large numbers of Chinese tourists due to jet in for holidays next week, industry operators said.
Thailand expects 220,000 Chinese visitors during China's "Golden Week" break, which starts on October 1, up about 30 percent from last year, said Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
With confidence in Thailand's public health system, Yuthasak said the number of Chinese tourists coming to his country should be on target.
Roong Mallikamas, head of the macroeconomics and monetary policy department at the Bank of Thailand, said Zika will not have a big impact on tourism because it is not as serious as other diseases previously seen in the region, such as a deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).
Zika has spread extensively in Latin American and the Caribbean over the past year, and more recently it has been cropping up in Southeast Asia.
Thailand has confirmed 349 Zika cases since January, including 33 pregnant women. It reported on September 30 the first confirmed cases of microcephaly in Southeast Asia.
The tourism industry accounts for about 10 percent of Thailand’s gross domestic product. The country expects a record 33 million visitors this year, driven mostly by an increase in Chinese numbers.-VNA
Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) on September 14 instructed all 12 Emergency Operation Centres to increase their alert level to level two amidst the spread of Zika virus epidemic.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Heath on September 27 revealed that relevant agencies are investigating four suspected cases of Zika-related microcephaly in three babies and a 36-week-old unborn baby.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel warning, advising pregnant women to consider postponing unimportant travel to 11 Southeast Asian countries.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health on September 30 confirmed that the Zika virus had caused two cases of microcephaly - a condition that results in babies being born with small heads.
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A worker fumigates an area in Bangkok (Photo: EPA/VNA)
