Thailand steps up Nipah monitoring

Airports screening arrivals from India

- MOLPASORN SHOOWONG

The Tourism Ministry has not received any reports of Nipah virus cases among Indian tourists in Thailand and has instructed its strategy and planning office to assess potential risks and contributing factors in order to prepare measures to prevent any impact on tourism.

Meanwhile, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) has already alerted its members about the disease, although there hasn’t been any impact on inbound Indian tourism so far.

Caretaker tourism and sports minister Artthakorn Sirilatthayakorn said the ministry is concerned about the Nipah virus, as the country is currently in the high season, while this industry is usually sensitive to reports concerning infectious diseases.

He has instructed the ministry's strategy and planning office to assess the risks and possible impact, so the issue won't cause panic among operators and locals.