The tourism sector is among the hardest hit by the flash floods that are ravaging eight southern provinces, home to many tourist destinations.
Ittirit Kinglake, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said a huge number of hotel bookings have been cancelled, especially in Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang, as a result of foreign visitors' safety concerns and fears that transport might be disrupted.
Nakhon Si Thammarat has been the worst hit among the deluged provinces, which also include Surat Thani, Phatthalung and Krabi.
Mr Ittirit said the heavy downpours have disrupted holidays during the peak tourism season.
Even though the situation has recovered in some provinces, heavy rains continue, and tour and hotels operators remain monitored closely.
"It is crucial to tackle the immediate crisis, especially for the flood victims. I do believe that the situation will see constant improvement due to the collaboration of local government, central government and the private sector as they moved quickly to lend support," he said.
Even though the tourism operators are concerned about the damages of ongoing floods, business leaders' have assessed that it is unlikely to affect the country's economic growth prospects much, with the losses estimated to be 10-15 billion baht.
According to Isara Vongkusolkit, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB), the severe floods in Southern provinces are expected to be short-lived and damages are mainly to road and transport routes, not machinery or industrial systems.
"Transportation or goods delivery of the private sector may be inconvenienced, but they [the private sector] can use other routes," he said. "We expect the transportation routes will revert to normal conditions within the week."
According to Mr Isara, the damaged road and transportation routes will allow the government to set aside funds for repair and maintenance, resulting in economic stimulation.
Mr Isara added that the impact on tourism is also unlikely to be significant, as key tourism areas such as Phuket were not inundated.
Flooding caused by heavy rains since last week extended throughout eight southern provinces, killing at least 18 people and halting major transport routes.
Chen Namchaisiri, chairman of Federation of Thai Industries reiterated Mr Isara, saying short-lived flooding is expected to not affect many tourists spots and result in limited damages in terms of assets.
"We initially estimated one month will be needed for recovery," said Mr Chen.
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT)'s governor, Veerapong Chaiperm, said that the only industrial estate in the southern province, in Songkhla, is also unaffected due to its high land reclamation.
Olarn Uyakul, chairman of FTI's southern province border group, which includes five provinces (Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Songkhla, and Satun), said the group and its members are closely monitoring the situation.
"We found that the damage is likely to be limited as the rainfalls in many provinces have gradually abated." said Mr Olarn.
The business leaders have discussed the matter at the monthly JSCCIB meeting yesterday in Bangkok and also estimate the tourism will increase by 10% in 2017 to 2.77 trillion baht, thanks to the higher number of foreign and local tourists arrivals.
This year, Thailand expects revenue generated by foreign tourists will reach 1.81 trillion baht and a locals tourist will generate 950 billion baht.
Bank of Thailand's senior director overseeing the financial institution applications department, Vireka Suntapuntu, said 110 commercial bank branches had been affected by the floods as of 11am yesterday.
The flood-hit branches account for 12.9% of 856 commercial bank branches in the South.
Mrs Vireka said that 23 branches were temporarily closed.
Of the total 23 branches, 21 are branches of Krungthai Bank (KTB), and one each of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Kasikornbank (KBank).
The Government Savings Bank (GSB) is offering five-year soft loans of up to 50,000 baht per victim of the South's flood to use as cash flow or fund their business operations, president Chatchai Payuhanaveechai said.
The bank will waive the interest rate for the first year and charge 1% a month for the second to the fifth year. To qualify for the loan, personal or securities guarantees are required.
Current GSB debtors who have been hit by the floods will be offered a principal payment suspension for 2-3 years.
The state-controlled Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has launched a measure to assist flood victims by offering them a one-year principal payment suspension, said senior executive vice-president Apirom Sukprasert.
Around 100,000 farmers or 10% of the BAAC's customers in the South are expected be hurt by the floods, but clear damages can be estimated only after the water level recedes, said a source at the BAAC who commented on condition of anonymity.
If plants are submerged for a short period, damages will be limited as most plants cultivated in the South are perennials such as rubber and palm, while rice was harvested before the floods, the source said.
