Fewer tourists were seen on Saturday (March 7) at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram and the adjacent Grand Palace in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok.

Only small groups of tourists are visiting one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangkok amid fear of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) that has hit the country’s tourism industry since early this year. The situation worsened when the Ministry of Public Health declared the Covid-19 disease a dangerous communicable disease last week and named South Korea, China, Italy, and Iran as countries at high risk of infection.

Most of the foreign tourists visiting the temple were European while only a few Chinese were seen. Large groups of tourists, who usually come with tour guide companies that used to fill up the place, are missing, leaving only individual tourists and those who come in small groups.

 

The Nation