It never rains but it pours in Thailand. The worst floods in 50 years hit the country’s capital Bangkok at the end of 2011 killing 594 people and having a huge impact on the country’s tourism industry. According to estimates, the flooding cut the number of overseas tourists to 18.5m in 2011 from a targeted 19.5m, costing the tourism industry 50bn baht (US$1.62bn).
Insurer Allianz said it expected the flood disaster could lead to a re-assessment of weather risks to industries in Asia, and counting the true cost of the floods could take years. It said it expected investors may now chose to invest in other countries. Speaking to news agency Reuters Allianz’s Regional CEO Lutz Fullgraf said: “This, for Thailand, was definitely the costliest event in terms of the insured values, even if you take into consideration the tsunami of 2004 and 2010’s riots. The loss is much bigger.
“I think it will top the list of insured flood losses over the past 10 years,” he said. “And I believe
the disaster will lead the insurance industry to re-evaluate weather and other natural disaster risks to Asia’s rapidly expanding industrial zones, many of which are areas vulnerable to earthquakes, storms and flooding.”
The Thai Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) said 24 MICE events, which were planned
in and around Bangkok, were affected during the flooding with revenue losses estimated at 3.32bn baht and a MICE visitor shortfall of around 250,000. The impact of the floods on domestic transportation in the Bangkok area also led organisers to reschedule events due to concerns over participant numbers, TCEB said.
“The variety of destinations Thailand has to offer helped mitigate the impact of the flooding affecting the Bangkok area,” sais Akapol Sorasuchart, President of TCEB.
“We expect to see a strong and rapid recovery for Thailand’s MICE sector,” he added. “TCEB is working closely with other government agencies to implement remedial measures.” In the immediate short term TCEB said it would focus on setting up a one-stop-centre to assist MICE travellers and facilitate the provision of daily updates and factsheets to the industry. Its medium term measures involve a market promotion campaign to boost confidence levels in the country with additional funds to promote MICE events available. National leaders will also be invited to attend key events and issue statements personally, or by video.
For the longer term, TCEB has called on the government to consider a Recovery Plan to stimulate the international and domestic MICE market. This includes a proposal to give tax relief on MICE expenditures and to provide regular updates on progress on the MICE industry’s recovery.
“Despite the challenges facing us, TCEB believes in the principle of ‘together we fight for Thailand’ and through close collaboration between the government and the private sector, Thailand’s MICE sector will recover completely before quarter three in 2012,” said Sorasuchart.
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