Business

Data released by the Bank of Thailand shows that tourism is now down from 100 000 to just 1,800 daily entries.

Thailand has effectively closed its doors to non-resident foreigners wanting to enter the country under a state of emergency that comes into force on Thursday (March 26).

Only some groups of people will be allowed to enter and exit the country and only the prime minister and responsible authorities will be authorised to open the borders in special cases.

The coronavirus epidemic is putting up to 50 million jobs in the global travel and tourism sector at risk, with travel likely to slump by a quarter this year and Asia being the most affected continent, the World Travel and Tourism Council has said.

This impact would depend on how long the epidemic lasts and could still be exacerbated by recent restrictive measures, such as those taken by the U.S. administration on travel to Europe, WTTC’s managing director Virginia M…

The impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector in Thailand is apparent. The number of passengers using Suvarnabhumi Airport has declined sharply, as many countries have closed their borders and airlines have suspended flights.

Airports of Thailand (AOT) and Suvarnabhumi Airport announced that 726 flights arrived at and departed from Suvarnabhumi Airport on March 15, down 33 percent year-on-year. The airport welcomed 79,899 passengers, down 60.2 percent year-on-year. There were only four flights from South Korea, two Thai Airways International and two from Korean Air.

The four flights carried 492 passengers in total, 190 of whom were Thai nationals. One Thai passenger has been placed in quarantine as a precaution. Three passengers did not carry a medical certificate with them, and they are now being observed by disease control officials. Two airport staff are also quarantined.

Suvarnabhumi Airport again saw a handful of both Thai and for…

Concerns over the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have strongly impacted investment in stock markets around the world, including Thailand.

As soon as the market opened this morning, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index plunged by 106 before reaching a decline of 111.52 points, or 10%, to 1,003.39 points. A circuit breaker was triggered to halt trading for 30 minutes.

Today’s circuit breaker, the fifth ever by the SET, is the second this week after the first yesterday, and followed a 2,000-point drop of Dow Jones last night – the worst since Wall Street’s Black Monday crisis on October 19, 1987.

The stock market panic came after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, imposed a travel ban on passengers from European Union (EU) countries, increasing concerns over the COVID-19 situation and making airline stocks plummet.

The SET President, Dr. Pakorn Peetathawatchai, said today the Thai stock market p…

 The global spread of the COVID-19 disease is perceived by the private sector to be a significant setback for both the Thai and global economies.

The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) has reduced this year’s national GDP projection from 2-2.5 percent to only 1.5-2 percent.

Acting as the JSCCIB chief, the Chairman of The Federation of Thai Industries Suphan Mongkolsuthree said today the committee has adjusted Thailand’s 2020 GDP projection down to 1.5 to 2 percent from the previous figure at 2 to 2.5 percent, while the export sector is expected to perform at a negative 2 to 0 percent; the inflation rate is expected to be 0.8 to 1.5 percent.

He said the epidemic of COVID-19 disease in many countries of the world, has had a widespread impact on the trading and manufacturing sectors, while urgent economic measures from the government are not likely to be able to compensate for the consequences of the epidemic.<…

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to reiterate the following recommendations for travellers amid the country’s strict system of monitoring and containment of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Thailand has declared COVID-19 a dangerous contagious disease: what it means to tourists?

The NCDC has made such decision to allow health authorities to effectively prevent and control the disease. In the event of an urgent necessity, it has the authority to close various locations and order patients or suspected patients to temporarily cease working.

What does this mean to tourists?

All tourism and travel activities are continuing as per usual with stringent health surveillance systems and stepped up hygiene measures in place.

TAT's infographic on Thai tourism industry’s measures to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Information includes procedures upon arrival at the point of entry, on…

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) dropped beneath 1,400 point in morning trading on Wednesday (February 26) amid concerns over the COVID-19 virus, and closed at 1366.

Thailand’s equity benchmark index tumbled to its lowest threshold in more than three years, falling at 1366, well below the 1,400 point mark as the rising number (three new cases) of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in the country shrank investment appetite.

The baht continued to weaken, trading at 31.84 to the US dollar in today evening trade, amid concerns over the coronavirus spreading outside China.

Tourism is a key driver of Thai growth and a bright spot in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy and Chinese tourists are Thailand’s biggest source of visitors.

With Chinese making up 28% of all tourists to Thailand, the travel sector is most likely to be hit hardest from the outbreak. Thai exports to China, which account for more than…

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak will dampen economic growth in China this year, but the scale of the impact remains uncertain and will depend on the duration and intensity of the health crisis, says Fitch Ratings.

Huge uncertainties remain over the impact of the coronavirus on China’s economy. We believe it is still too early to make definitive adjustments to our GDP forecasts at this stage and instead have examined some illustrative scenarios.

The SARS outbreak provides a useful benchmark, but there are significant differences between that epidemic and the latest one.

Notably, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has spread faster than SARS, and official travel and workplace activity restrictions have been more aggressive.

These factors suggest that the impact of the current outbreak on economic activity on a daily basis may be more intense than SARS, but the impact on GDP will also depend on the length of time taken to c…

Several major Thai banks have drastically reduced their GDP growth forecast for 2020 citing the coronavirus epidemic, drought and fiscal delays.

The coronavirus epidemic, the delayed fiscal budget and the ongoing drought are estimated to shave nearly 280 billion baht off GDP, taking economic growth down to a range of 1.7-2.1%, according to TMB Analytics.

TMB Analytics forecast foreign tourist arrivals of 38.7 million in 2020.

The research unit earlier predicted economic growth would come in at 2.7% this year.

Earlier, the Tourism Authority of Thailand predicted a fall of 2 million tourists from China, the biggest source of visitors, this year.

Last year, Thailand welcomed a record 39.8 million foreign tourists, with Chinese visitors at nearly 11 million. Spending by foreign tourists accounted for 11% of GDP last year.

Siam Commercial Bank’s Economic Intelligence Center (EIC) has offered the most pessimistic vie…

BANGKOK (NNT) – The cumulative number of confirmed cases of 2019 novel coronavirus infections in Thailand remains unchanged at 25, with patients responding well to treatment.

The Department of Disease Control’s Director General Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, has reassured the general public of the robust disease control system in Thailand, urging them not to believe fake news.

16 patients receiving treatment at hospitals

16 patients are now receiving treatment at hospitals, while nine other patients have been discharged from hospital. With 25 cases, Thailand is listed fourth among countries with the most cases.

20 new suspected cases were reported yesterday, raising the number of cumulative suspected cases to 615 cases. Of this figure, 225 patients have already been discharged, while 390 patients are still in hospitals.

The Ministry of Public Health is asking the general public to be cautious about accepting new inf…

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said that China’s coronavirus has infected nearly 6,000 people domestically so far, with an additional 68 confirmed cases in 15 other countries.

The primary impact is on human health. However, the risk of contagion is affecting economic activity and financial markets. The immediate and most significant economic impact is in China (A1 stable) but will reverberate globally, given the importance of China in global growth as well as in global company revenue.

By sector, the coronavirus will likely have the largest negative impact on goods and services sectors within and outside of China that rely on Chinese consumers and intermediary products.

China’s annual GDP growth forecast unchanged so far, but composition could shift

In our baseline, we expect the outbreak to have a temporary impact on China’s economy and for annual GDP growth in China to remain in line with our forecast of 5.8% in 2020.

…