- Title: THAILAND-BLAST/ECONOMY-MARKET People mourn for bad economy after Bangkok blast
- Date: 19th August 2015
- Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (AUGUST 19, 2015) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING IN MARKET SELLER STANDING SELLER SLEEPING SELLER SITTING ON SIDEWALK (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) 48 YEAR-OLD VILAI CHONCHAIPAISARN SAYING: "There used to be more customer but not anymore. People are afraid, no one wants to walk here. There is no one." WOMAN STANDING IN SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) 56 YEAR-OLD KANOKPAN PENGSRI
- Embargoed: 3rd September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Thailand
- Country: Thailand
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAHWPU7FSGGU4JQQ5C79ZJ1VDJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Local vendors in a Bangkok street market on Wednesday (August19) said they were badly hit by Bangkok's Monday blast after the attack which killed 22 people including foreigners.
A bomb that ripped through a religious shrine in Bangkok's commercial heart, killing 22 people and wounding more than 100, could deal a heavy blow to a tourism sector that has been one of the few recent bright spots for Thailand's struggling economy.
Nine foreigners were among those killed in the attack, the motive for which remains a mystery.
The Thai government has called the attack a bid to destroy the economy.
At a usually busy street near Bangkok's downtown, business was not doing so well.
"There used to be more customer but not anymore. People are afraid, no one wants to walk here. There is no one," said 48-year-old clothes vendor Vilai Chonchaipaisarn.
"It's going to be worse, a lot worse. People don't have money and they don't want to spend. We, the sellers, are in trouble," added another vendor Kanokpan Pengsri, 56.
The blast incident has not only affected the local businesses but also impacted the people's daily lives.
"I can tell you that this incident effect the sales target because the incident just happened. People just want to go home early. We might have to wait a little bit, the situation will get back to normal," 55-year-old Mareerat Saelim explained.
The Erawan Shrine targeted by the bomb is located in Bangkok's Ratchaprasong luxury retail district, packed with upscale boutiques, eateries and offices.
Thai hotelier Erawan Group, which operates the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel located next to the shrine, said the company was assessing the impact from the blast.
After shunning Thailand during months of political turmoil leading up to a coup in May last year, tourists had been returning to a country famed for its beaches and nightlife, with foreign arrivals up 29.5 percent to 14.9 million in the first half of 2015.
On Monday, Thailand reported sluggish economic growth of 2.8 percent in April-June from a year earlier, with tourism a key driver. The sector directly accounts for around 9 percent of output, and as much as a fifth of GDP including indirect effects, according to economists at ANZ.
The blast also took its toll on the broader Thai market as the Thai baht on Tuesday (August 18) fell to its weakest level of almost 3 percent in more than six years on concerns that a bomb blast at a popular shrine in Bangkok may hurt the country's tourism.
The baht lost as much as 0.5 percent, falling to 35.55 per dollar, its weakest since April 2009.
Shares related to the tourism industry were hit the hardest, with hoteliers such as Minor International, Central Plaza Hotel and Erawan Group dropping more than 10 percent on Tuesday. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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