Reuters file photo for reference only
A day after declaring that the Omicron variant would have no effect on foreign tourist arrivals into Thailand the TAT chief has done an abrupt U-turn.
He now says that fears over the new variant WILL have an affect and Thailand will not get the 600,000 arrivals from abroad he was expecting in November and December.
Yutthasak Suphasorn still said that November arrivals were 130,000 and December would be "at least 300,000", as reported by Thai business media.
But he was not blaming Thailand for this.
He said that the main market for international travel was Europe - especially the UK, Germany and France - and many countries there were experiencing Covid-19 surges.
People were not put off going to Thailand not because of the situation in the kingdom but because of fear of lockdowns in their own countries and not being able to return after their holidays.
There was also the emergence of the Omicron variant. Though its precise nature is as yet uncertain it was causing consternation among people and affecting international travel, he noted.
Why Omicron and surges in Covid-19 cases in Europe were not affecting Thailand at the weekend but were on Monday was not explained by the media, notes ASEAN NOW.
These factors have been known for well over a week but seem to have been missed on the Tourism Authority of Thailand chief, well known for plucking figures from the ether.
Still he said that Thailand now had the RT-PCR test back in place that would prove a more effective shield against the virus.
He reiterated that Thailand was open and safe.
His comments appeared to have come prior to Thailand announcing an Omicron case from a USA traveller from Spain.
Back in pre pandemic days Thailand expected monthly arrivals of 3 million foreign tourists and in 2019 had around 40 million foreign tourists