The bomb attacks in seven southern provinces last week are likely to have serious repercussions on the tourism industry in Thailand, at least in the short term.

According to the Tourism Council of Thailand, the country may experience a sharp drop in international tourists in the immediate future, especially to Phuket, Hua Hin, Krabi and such other tourist destinations.

Similarly, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) estimates that around 200,000 international tourists may cancel or postpone travel plans to Thailand, which could potentially reduce tourism earnings by more than five billion Thai Baht. 

The attacks came just less than a year after the Erawan Shrine explosion on 17 August, 2015. In the aftermath of last year’s attack, tourist arrivals dropped substantially to Bangkok for approximately six weeks; however, the country made a strong recovery during the last quarter of the year.

In 2015, Thailand welcomed 29.88 million international tourists. TAT estimates international tourists will reach 33 million and will generate a total of 1.84 trillion Thai Baht in revenue by the end of this year.

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