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SARS-free Thailand offers $100,000 to lure tourists

 

PATTAYA, Thailand, May 19 (Reuters) - Thailand, desperate to lure tourists worried by SARS, on Monday offered to give $100,000 to any tourist who could prove he or she caught the deadly virus while staying in the country.

 

The offer followed the publication of figures showing tourist arrivals in April plunged by almost half from a year ago due to fear of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which has killed more than 600 and infected over 7,800 worldwide.

 

Tourism Minister Sontaya Kunploem said the cash offer was intended to persuade potential visitors that Thailand was safe from the outbreaks that have swept across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

 

The payment, part of a government package of promotional offers worth 2.9 billion baht ($68.07 million) to encourage tourism, was approved by the Thai cabinet on Monday.

 

"We are a SARS-free country," Sontaya told reporters after a cabinet meeting in the seaside resort of Pattaya, 120 km (75 miles) southeast of Bangkok. "We are ready to make the payment to boost the confidence of tourists who come to Thailand," she added.

 

Thailand is one of Asia's most popular tourist destinations and its tropical sandy beaches, Buddhist temples and famous nightlife attracted 10.8 million overseas visitors last year. But SARS has affected tourism across East Asia, hitting even Thailand which has had only a handful of cases. A report by the Tourism Authority of Thailand obtained by Reuters on Monday said 322,360 foreign tourists entered Thailand via the country's main Bangkok international airport in April, down 46.1 percent from April 2002. Over 90

percent of visitors to Thailand arrive by air.

 

Thailand, whose tourism revenues account for six percent of gross domestic product, said this month fear of SARS might only cut tourists arrivals by around two percent to 10.6 million in 2003, compared with six percent growth projected before the epidemic.

 

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>So now it's 46.1% that tourism dropped last month. Early estimates had been just 26%. No wonder the bars are empty.

 

OK, josh's plan to stimulate the economy (along the lines of "one tambon, one product"). Each expatriate resident is given 20,000 baht in a special, one off payment. This *has* to be spent in bars. The knock on effects on the economy will be instantateous, and much of the money will end up where it is needed most. Buying Lao cow for papa in isaan.

-j-

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>>>PATTAYA, Thailand, May 19 (Reuters) - Thailand, desperate to lure tourists worried by SARS, on Monday offered to give $100,000 to any tourist who could prove he or she caught the deadly virus while staying in the country.<<<

 

Could be difficult considering that the person who contracted SARS could potentially dead within a few days... :doah:

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