An ambulance is seen outside Siam Paragon shopping centre in Bangkok on Oct 3, following a shooting incident at the mall.Thai police patrol inside Siam Paragon mall before it was opened on Oct 4, a day after a shooting left two people dead.Tourism Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol stressed that the shooting at Siam Paragon mall in the capital city was “an isolated incident”.
The shooting casts a shadow on Thailand’s expectations for a surge in foreign tourist arrivals under a visa-free programme for visitors from China and Kazakhstan. Chinese tourists were the largest group of visitors to the country before the Covid-19 pandemic, accounting for about 28 per cent of the record 40 million foreign arrivals in 2019.The fallout from the shooting on tourism needs to be watched, said Bank of Thailand governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput on Wednesday.Mr Burin Adulwattana, chief economist at the Bangkok-based Kasikorn Research Centre, said: “The shooting will hurt confidence of tourists and sentiment.