The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) predicts that, once a Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out late next year, the hard-hit tourism sector will begin to recover.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), Kirida Bhaopichitr, the Institute's Research Director for International Research and Advisory Service, addressed the notion that people were overreacting to the pandemic.
She said most visitors were likely to come from China and Asean in the first phase of tourism recovery as it was cheaper to travel within the region and more friendly to them, too.
"In the post-Covid-19 world, we can expect more Chinese tourists," she told a forum entitled "The post-Covid-19 economy of Thailand and the most vulnerable."
According to the TDRI, domestic tourism was already recovering but [6 percent of GDP] would not return to pre-Covid-19 level due to safety and financial concerns.
Jonathan Head, correspondent for BBC Southeast Asia and vice president of the FCCT, asked panelists about the level of public fear that he said "has gone beyond anything I have ever seen in other countries."
He also noted what he characterized as the draconian measures taken by the government, including turning its back on mass tourism and even putting off travel bubbles, despite having managed to curb the virus' spread well.
Ms Kirida said public fear was due to the fact that, given the recent case of an Egyptian military officer in Rayong, "we are in the unknown," because a second wave of coronavirus could lead to a second lockdown and further economic harm.
"That is the reality on the ground. Perhaps it also reflects the fact that Thais, after all, are not confident in the ability of the government to manage those risks," she said.
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