Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
120
Along with Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia recovered more quickly from this crisis than
other parts of the world, with particularly strong growth over 2010-11.
 2010: Civil unrest included demonstrations leading to riots in Bangkok, resulting in 90
deaths and considerable damage to buildings. A State of Emergency was imposed in
much of the country. This did little to depress tourism, however.
 2011: Serious flooding due to exceptionally heavy rainfall killed nearly 1000 people and
left millions homeless. Much of Bangkok’s infrastructure was damaged, and the disaster
was blamed by some on government not being prepared for the floods
(Kanlayanasukho, 2014). Inaccurate reporting by international media may have
contributed to the fall in demand: for instance, aeroplanes were shown surrounded by
water, but without making it clear that the images were from the chief domestic airport,
not the main international one. The governments of some source markets issued travel
advisory warnings against non-essential travel to Thailand. Nevertheless, there was
only a slight dip in arrivals during the worst of the flooding, and overall there was a
19.8% increase over the previous year.
 2014: Two British tourists were murdered on Koh Tao, a popular backpacker
destination.
 2014: Another military coup resulted in the first drop in arrivals since 2009, with a fall
of 7%. Visitor numbers rebounded in 2015, with a 20.4% year-on-year increase (BMI,
2016).
 2015: The bombing of the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok resulted in the death of 6
Thais and 14 foreign nationals. A further 125 people (tourists and local worshippers)
were injured. As a result, several source market governments issued travel advisories
warning people to take extra care or avoid the country altogether. It is suspected that
the bomb was placed by Islamist anti-government rebels from the 3 provinces in
southern Thailand, where an insurgency of rebels operating on ethnic and religious
grounds started in 1948 and has since been pursued with varying levels of intensity.
5.3.3. Recovery from Crises in Thai Tourism
Despite the various crises, international visitor arrivals to Thailand have generally been stable or
declined by a relatively small amount year on year, and where there have been declines, arrivals
have generally recovered the following year (as shown in Table 5.3 above). In years affected by
negative events businesses have reacted in several ways, and because of the frequency and variety
of the crises, individual businesses and the industry in general have become practised in their
responses.
In the aftermath of crises such as the tsunami and floods, a priority is infrastructure reconstruction.
For instance, in 2005-06 the government allocated a budget for tsunami relief and reconstruction
of nearly US$ 1.7 billion (Nidhiprabha, 2007). This consisted of funding for rebuilding damaged
housing, roads, ports and water, sewerage and electricity systems, and included amounts set aside
for business loans and compensation to people who had lost their livelihoods (principally fishing