Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), said an oil shortage is currently the most serious concern, even more damaging than rising fuel prices.
He said higher prices can still be managed, as businesses and the public are able to adjust costs and plan their travel accordingly. Even if fuel rises by 5-10 baht per litre, people can still decide whether to go ahead with a trip. But if petrol stations run out of fuel altogether, travel plans would be thrown into disarray.
Tourists, he said, would be left anxious about whether they could continue their journeys, making travel far less enjoyable. Thienprasit warned that such a situation could hurt the tourism sector just as much as safety-related confidence issues, particularly if negative reports begin spreading that visitors should avoid Thailand because fuel is unavailable.
“If fuel is expensive, everyone can still manage costs and plan transport and travel. But once stations run dry, with people driving from one petrol station to another without being able to refuel, that becomes something neither businesses nor the public can manage,” he said.