By the end of last week, Bangkok’s Erawan shrine was showing signs of healing. Thailand’s economy, less so.
The Hindu holy spot, the site where 20 people died in an Aug. 17 bombing that was Thailand’s worst terrorist attack ever, was quickly re-opened to visitors, hundreds of whom laid flowers as camps of photographers popped pictures. Tourists again crowded the area around the shrine, a main avenue in the center of town. Mike Argabright, a retired engineer from Ventura, Calif., who has lived in Bangkok for eight years, came out to see the scene for himself. He said he hadn’t noticed dramatic changes in the city since the bombing: “Maybe a few more police checkpoints.”
In many people’s minds, the immediate question for Thailand’s economy was what effect the explosion would have on tourism. And for good reason: Tourism drove all of the 2.8% second quarter expansion in Thailand’s economy; without the flood of Chinese and Singaporean visitors, its economy would have recorded zero growth. Last week, cancellations hit expensive restaurants and hotels. But analysts have already turned sanguine, predicting the bombing’s effect on visitors will taper off in time for the high season that starts in October (assuming that no other fatal attack follows it).