Operators urge Korea Mers checks

Businesses expect to feel only a light impact

Thai tourism operators are calling on authorities to check travellers from South Korea carefully after six people died from the Mers virus there.

Without serious tourist screening measures, they are worried the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) coronavirus will spread to Thailand and its effects be similar to the 2002-04 Sars outbreak.

The Tourism Council of Thailand said Thai tourism businesses would eventually be affected if the Mers virus was found in the country, vice-president Yutthachai Soon torn rattanavey said.

“We have to step up preventive measures for Mers virus infection in Thailand. Prevention is better than solving the problem,” he said.

Thailand has no official reports of any Mers-infected patients.

Inbound tourism from South Korea, which is the fourth-biggest market for Thailand, is already being affected by the Mers virus, as many South Koreans have cancelled their travels due to outbreak concerns, Mr Yutthachai said.

For outbound tourism, he believes tour operators can deal with the problem, as the three biggest wholesalers dominate the market for South Korean destinations.

Now it is low season for tourism to South Korea, as there are no long holiday periods and the main Thai school break is over.

A few Thai tourists became concerned about travel to South Korea after recent reports that six people died from Mers there, Mr Yutthachai added.

Suparerk Soorangura, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), said its members found Thai travellers were not panicked about the Mers virus. Its travel agents still send Thai tour groups to South Korea every day.

“We estimate only 10% of our South Korea bookings have cancelled so far,” he said.

However, some tour operators are offering 5-10% discounts to maintain sales.

Mr Suparerk said many Thai travellers still wanted to travel to South Korea, as they know the affected areas are not in main tourism destinations such as Seoul, Busan and Jeju island.

If the outbreak in South Korea worsens, tour operators will shift to market other popular destinations such as Japan and China, he said.

The TTAA previously projected the number of Thai tourists to South Korea would be 500,000 this year.

In April, tourist arrivals from Thailand to South Korea dropped by 5.4% to 43,851 visitors, the Korea Tourism Organization reported.

Concerns about the Mers virus are growing in South Korea, with more than 2,500 people quarantined yesterday. Over 1,800 schools will be closed for a few days amid concerns about a potential outbreak spreading.

The first case of Mers infection in South Korea was found on May 20 in Gyeonggi province, outside of Seoul.

The infection level in South Korea is considered the largest outside Saudi Arabia, where the virus was discovered. Some 87 people have been infected with the Mers virus in South Korea.

As of early this month, 1,179 laboratoryconfirmed cases of human infection with the Mers virus have been reported to the World Health Organization since 2012 including at least 442 deaths.

To date, 25 countries have reported cases — Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen in the Middle East; Algeria and Tunisia in Africa; Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and Britain in Europe; China, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines in Asia; and the US in North America.

People in China and South Korea have only been affected since last month.