Economy facing damage from China’s ban on group toursTourists queue for a fever secreening at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok on Saturday. (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)The Thai economy faces fresh turbulence after China banned outbound group tours to try and limit the spread of the novel coronavirus that’s sickened thousands. Chinese holidaymakers — many on group tours — spent almost $18 billion in Thailand last year, more than a quarter of all foreign tourism receipts, government data show. China’s prohibition on outbound group tours takes effect Monday and may spell more pain for Thailand’s Tourism & Leisure equity index. The gauge slumped more than 6% last week, making it the third-worst performing industry group on the stock exchange.

Source: Bangkok Post January 26, 2020 06:11 UTC