Editorial | Thai killings show no place completely safe
- Bangkok mall shootings will make it harder for the country to rebuild its tourist economy, but such tragedies cannot be ruled out even in a peaceful destination
Colourful destinations pride themselves on a reputation for safety that sets travellers’ minds to rest. The image is even more cherished after the Covid pandemic showed no respect for borders and shut tourism down. Recovering economies such as Hong Kong can attest to that. Now it is the turn of Thailand, a prime destination for Hongkongers and mainlanders, to reassure tourists after a burst of gunfire at a packed upmarket Bangkok shopping centre.
The shooting left two foreigners dead – one from China and one from Myanmar – and five wounded. Police later arrested a 14-year-old boy described as a mental patient who had not taken his medication and said “another him” had told him to do it.
The tragedy comes as a blow at a pivotal moment for a globally popular destination that has maintained a safe image despite an unrivalled record among democracies for military coups. Post-Covid, Thailand was already facing an obstacle to rebuilding its tourism economy in that Chinese visitors had yet to return in previous numbers. Evidence of concern about this was to be found in the appearance at Bangkok international airport recently of the Thai prime minister and tourism minister to welcome hundreds of Chinese travellers.
It was the first day of a new, 30-day visa-free entry scheme designed to win back people from the mainland and Hong Kong and boost a tourism industry badly damaged by the pandemic.
Witnesses to the shooting told of hearing up to 10 shots, followed by a department store announcement of a shooting, and seeing terrified shoppers scrambling to escape down emergency stairwells and through car parks.
Guns are widely available in Thailand and shootings are not uncommon. The incident follows the fatal stabbing of two young women in Hong Kong’s Plaza Hollywood mall in Diamond Hill last June. Thankfully, both incidents were isolated. There is no reason after one incident why Chinese or other nationalities should not continue to see Thailand as a safe country in which to take a holiday. But they should be mindful that even in a peaceful destination they cannot rule out unexpected events that confound that reputation.