About 60,000 Chinese tourists cancelled their trips to Thailand since the Siam Paragon shooting, which left three people dead, including one Chinese tourist, and four injured.
Data from Airports of Thailand showed the number of Chinese tourists arriving since the incident on Oct 3 was 590,000, a 9.2% decline compared with bookings of 650,000, government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said on Saturday.
However, the number is still within the range of expectations because the number of people booking tickets is always higher than the number who purchase tickets, he said.
“Normally, the number of bookings is within a range of plus or minus 15% of the real travel figures, so the reduction of 9.2% of Chinese visitors after the incident is normal. It shows that Chinese tourists are still confident in travelling to Thailand,” he said.
Mr Chai also took the opportunity to thank those Chinese tourists who had made the trip despite the tragedy.
“We’d like to thank Chinese tourists for understanding Thailand and having confidence in the government,” he said. “Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has instructed agencies to comply with standards to ensure safety for tourists and Thais alike.”