Tourism affected the Thai government’s reaction to news of the incoming tsunami earlier on December 26th. The government decided that it did not want to scare tourists with the possibility of a tsunami, especially if this was over-exaggerated by scientists. Smith Thammasaroj a former chief of Thailand's Meteorological Department, predicted in 1998 that a tsunami would hit tourist areas and that there would be a massive death toll. Officials did not pay attention to him until after December 26, 2004. A false alarm would have a very negative effect on the tourist industry, and the Thai government decided that it would forgo any early-warning system.