Sawasdee Khrup … Kon ni chi wa … Good afternoon, distinguished delegates and colleagues in the tourism industry, ladies and gentlemen, we are deeply honoured to be participating in the 2009 JATA World Tourism Congress, one of the world’s most esteemed and influential tourism industry events.

On behalf of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, I would like to thank JATA — the Japan Association of Travel Agents — for inviting us. We are delighted to be here with you this afternoon.

Following the establishment of Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports in 2002, TAT’s scope of work now focuses on the marketing and promotion of the many magnificent treasures of the Thai Kingdom to the world – when things are normal … as well as when the country faces the toughest challenges.

Thailand has seen its fair share of crises — as a result of natural or biological factors, as well as man-made.

Having experienced one crisis after another and seen their impact on tourism, in 2001, TAT formed a contingency unit called the TAT Crisis Communication Centre to facilitate communication, coordination and networking between internal departments within TAT, as well as with private sector trade partners in the various tourism sub-sectors.

Beyond TAT’s role in destination marketing and promotion, the Thai tourism industry also places its trust in TAT to be pro-active in order to minimize the impact of various crises on travel and tourism to Thailand.

The Centre is designed to enhance the Thai travel and tourism industry’s response to the challenges and uncertainties of a highly competitive operating environment shaped by the forces of globalization and rapidly changing trends.

The latest situation updates from TAT’s international network of offices is available online on a real time basis. This serves as an early detection and early warning mechanism that alerts us to potential issues and concerns which TAT and the Thai tourism industry need to jointly address and resolve to pre-empt a crisis.

It is our great pleasure to now share with you some examples of risk management and confidence-building tourism recovery efforts we have undertaken.

The sensitivity varies from market to market. The survey findings revealed that 6 out of 21 key source markets for visitor arrivals to Thailand – or 28 per cent – considered Influenza A (H1N1) to be the key factor in the decision not to travel to Thailand.

While 17 out of the 21 markets — or 81 per cent — indicated that the political unrest and political instability that subsequently lead to the airport closure and Songkran protest in April 2009 was the most important contributor to the decline in outbound travel to Thailand.

Given these findings, we would like to take this opportunity to address some of these concerns, which I am sure many of you here today share.

Ladies and gentlemen, first and foremost, I would like to begin by saying how deeply sorry we are over the unexpected and unfortunate incident of the airport closure. We humbly apologize with all our heart for the worry and inconvenience it caused to all visitors to Thailand, your customers and clients who were stranded, and their families.

As is the case in many democratic societies around the world, Thailand is a country where we respect the rights of an individual to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. But this time, things went too far.

The airport closure was a regrettable act that has had a devastating impact on Thai tourism and the Thai economy. This in itself has been a valuable lesson for Thailand. The Thai people from all walks of life do not wish to see a repeat of such an incident.

Beyond the personal reassurance offered by our Prime Minister during Thailand Roadshows to various countries, including Japan, the private sector will not tolerate the repeat of such an incident. It is maintaining pressure on the incumbent government to ensure that utmost efforts are made to ensure the safety, well-being, and convenience of international visitors during their stay in our country.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Royal Thai Government is committed to ensuring that Thailand remains a peaceful, stable and welcoming country to visit.

The Thai government’s decision to impose the Internal Security Act in Dusit district of Bangkok from August 29 to September 1 as a preventive measure to ensure law and order during the anti-government rally planned by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) for Sunday 30 August, is a clear indicator that the Thai government is determined to prevent political protests from spiralling out of control.

The successful conclusion of the recent 42nd ASEAN Ministers Meeting/Post Ministerial Conferences and 16th ASEAN Regional Forum hosted in Bangkok and Phuket during July 17 – 23 also reflects this commitment.

Ladies and gentlemen … visitors to Thailand are never the intended target of political activities.

We are now pleased to share with you a brief update on Thailand’s Tsunami Early Warning System and the most recent full-scale tsunami evacuation drill which was organized and coordinated by the Civil Defence Secretariat Office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

The drill was conducted simultaneously in all six provinces along Thailand’s Andaman Coast namely in the provinces of Phuket, Phang-nga, Ranong, Krabi, Trang and Satun, on August 21, a month ago.

Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Centre has been in operation since May 31, 2005.

Following a decision by the Thai cabinet on March 29, 2005, approving a proposal for the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior to formulate a systematic evacuation plan for communities in the six coastal provinces along Thailand’s Andaman coast, Thailand’s tsunami evacuation plan, has been in place since 2006, and tsunami evacuation drills are held at least once a year, every year.

The full-scale tsunami evacuation drill on August 21 covered all of the following areas: Testing the readiness of the warning system, situation management, the evacuation procedure, and rescue operations.

The objectives were to:

	Assess the readiness of all agencies working in collaboration to implement existing evacuation plans in the event of a tsunami incident occurring
	Test the operability and efficiency of the evacuation plan in place
	Generate preparedness and enhance confidence among officials concerned and the general public and familiarize all parties with the systematic evacuation procedure
	Ensure the safety of lives and property of the public and tourists in high risk areas

In Phuket, drills were conducted in a total of 19 sites, with a comprehensive test being conducted at Patong Beach.

WARNING SYSTEM
Sirens are a vital component of the Early Warning System. In the event of impending threats such as destructive waves or floodwaters, warnings in the form of sirens are sounded.

Such alerts would be further supported by visual indicators such as red alert emergency warning lights and audio-recordings in English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, German, and Thai.

To facilitate evacuation and escape from danger zones to higher ground or the city centre, and vice-versa, appropriate evacuation sites with clearly marked evacuation routes ensure rapid and convenient evacuation and escape within the shortest possible time.

As you are aware, there have been several earthquakes in Indonesia and Sumatra. Each and every time that Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Centre receives an alert on a confirmed incident from the USGS — the U.S. Geological Survey, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Japan Meteorological Agency, the Indonesian Meteorological and Geological Agency, or any of the other international agencies advising of a potential threat to the safety of residents and visitors in provinces along the Andaman Coast, a tsunami warning has been issued.

There’s also positive news for Thailand. Dr Smith Thammasaroj, Vice Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Disaster Warning Centre has confirmed that the US government has agreed to deploy two tsunami buoys in the Pacific to feed accurate and fast tsunami warning data to Thailand's warning centre using satellite uplinking.

The first buoy will be deployed before the year’s end, and the second before the end of next year.

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health has been working in close collaboration with the World Health Organization at the regional and international level on influenza preparedness and response since the outbreak in Mexico in late April.

Thailand’s policy with regard to travel is consistent with statements issued by the World Health Organization on May 1st and June 11th, 2009.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders, but states that it is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel.

The H1N1 situation in Thailand remains under control, so Thailand has adopted WHO recommendations and has not issued travel advisories restricting outbound travel to countries affected by H1N1. We leave it to the individual travellers to decide for themselves.

This is of course with the exception of individuals who are unwell. Those who have flu-like symptoms are urged to seek immediate medical attention, within 48 hours at the latest, to facilitate rapid diagnosis and immediate treatment. They are advised not to travel — except to see a doctor.

Thailand continues to monitor and screen inbound international travellers with flu-like symptoms and strictly monitors those coming from countries affected by the disease.

However, Thai public health authorities recognize that although identifying the signs and symptoms of influenza in travellers can be an effective monitoring technique, it is not effective in reducing the spread of influenza, as the virus can be transmitted from person to person before the onset of symptoms.

Hence, Thai authorities and responsible agencies are focusing their efforts on minimizing the impact of the virus through the rapid identification of cases and providing patients with appropriate medical care.

Returning travellers who fall ill are urged to seek immediate medical care.

Thai public health authorities continue to adopt and implement prevention and control measures in accordance with WHO International Health Regulations and guidelines to ensure effective prevention and control of the infection, as well as in the treatment of cases.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health continues to run an aggressive, high profile, public awareness campaign to educate the general public about taking preventive measures to avoid contracting the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Thai government has taken the lead. State and private sector organizations likewise are offering their full support in the national effort to combat the H1N1 outbreak. These are some of the measures being undertaken to prevent the spread of infection.

These are some the preventive public health measures undertaken by Thai Airways International, our national carrier, to ensure passenger safety and reduce the risk of contracting an influenza infection.

	THAI conducts regular deep-clean fumigation on board flights flown to and from high-risk countries.
	36 common touch points are disinfected…
	THAI has installed special air filters on all its aircraft. These air filters are guaranteed by Airbus and Boeing to keep air as pure as in hospital surgical units. The air filters on THAI flights are also changed more often than the recommended standard.
	For ground services, THAI's staff at the check-in counter and boarding gate are required to observe passengers for possible influenza symptoms.
	Surgical masks are available for passengers to wear to prevent spread of infection.
	THAI’s cabin crew also observe for passengers with flu-like symptoms and separates contagious passengers from others. The cabin crew will contact the international infectious diseases unit prior to flight landing.

Ladies and gentlemen, in addition to working in close collaboration with the World Health Organization at the regional and international level to combat the H1N1 outbreak, as the current Chair of ASEAN — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Thailand hosted the ASEAN+3 Health Ministers’ Special Meeting on Influenza A (H1N1) on 8th May in Bangkok, under the joint chairmanship of the Health Ministers of Thailand and the Philippines, to foster regional cooperation.

ASEAN Health Ministers as well as their counterparts from Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea, met to discuss Influenza A (H1N1). The meeting was officially opened by Thailand's Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Thailand is also a leader on H1N1 vaccine development. Thailand is scaling up vaccine production capacity in collaboration with WHO and Thailand is aiming to become an important regional vaccine production centre in the near future.

Ladies and gentlemen, TAT is not the Lone Ranger in all of these efforts to ensure visitor safety and ensure that Thailand remains a peaceful and welcoming country.

The Ministries and designated agencies directly responsible assume the leadership role in managing the operational aspects of risk management.

TAT facilitates the process by bridging agencies of the Thai government with private sector trade associations, travel trade counterparts, non-governmental organizations, in Thailand and overseas, right down to individual travellers, by providing tourist assistance on a one-on-one basis through TAT’s network of Tourism Information Counters, TAT offices in Thailand and around the world, and via the TAT Hotline 1672.

Please be assured that Thailand takes risk management in all cases very seriously. The safety and well-being of our international visitors is always our top priority.

THAILAND’S THREE SOUTHERN PROVICES
JATA Question:
With regard to terrorism in the South, is the response sufficient?

Ladies and Gentlemen,
With regard to the three Southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, we can say with confidence that what has been happening here is not in any way related to global acts of international terrorism – terrorism practiced in a foreign country by terrorists who are not native to that country.

Additionally, if we refer to the ASEAN Regional Forum Statement on Cooperative Counter-Terrorist Action on Border Security which states that “Terrorism constitutes a grave threat to stability, peace and security in the Asia-Pacific and beyond… It has links with trans-national organized crime, (such as money laundering, arms smuggling, people smuggling, and the production of and trafficking in illicit drugs.) It is also associated with the illegal movement of nuclear, chemical, biological, and other deadly materials…”

This is certainly not the case with Thailand’s three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.

What is happening in Thailand's South is a domestic issue. Some of the residents of these provinces would like to see “self rule” — defined as being no interference from Central Government – especially by authorities who have limited knowledge and understanding of Islamic ways.

They see themselves as being very much a part of the Thai Kingdom and would like to remain "Thai" but would also like to be granted the right to greater participation and involvement in provincial administration.

ROLE OF TAT IN THAILAND’S THREE SOUTHERN PROVINCES

There is no doubt that this is a complex, multi-dimensional issue that is going to take time to resolve.

However, in spite of the changes in central government over the years, there is a clear recognition of the need to alleviate rural poverty and create economic opportunities for the region, and sustainable employment for the people to ensure a more promising future for their families.

While efforts are being made by relevant authorities in the other areas, TAT’s role has been to work with the local community to find ways to develop the tourism potential and find appropriate opportunities to promote the distribution of tourism revenue to rural communities in the three southern provinces where visitors can be ensured their safety and tourism is possible.

TAT has maintained an office in Narathiwat since 1993.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as we have limited time and our seminar today is on risk management, I will only focus on how our office in Narathiwat contributes to TAT’s risk management process.

In addition to some staff from TAT Head-office and other regions of Thailand,
we have also recruited staff from the local communities. This enables us to gain a better understanding of local community and culture, and the local way of life.

The local staff are well-connected and well-informed about what goes on in the community, and through their routine reports and situation updates, they provide the TAT Tourism Intelligence Unit and Crisis Communication Centre with valuable insight.

Our local staff are on the front line and help us to monitor the situation on a day-to-day basis as well as when a storm may be brewing so we can take measures to ensure visitor safety well ahead of time.

We congratulate JATA and would like to express our profound thanks for facilitating this valuable exchange of knowledge and making this possible.
Thank you.

And “Thank you” to each and everyone of you, both Friends of JATA and Friends of Thailand… Khop Khun Khrup and Sawasdee khrup.