SONGKHLA, April 5 – Thailand’s traditional Songkran new year celebration in Hat Yai is likely to be less crowded than usual as the hoteliers’ association said more than half of the earlier rooms booked for Songkran in Hat Yai and Songkhla have been cancelled after last weekend’s deadly bombing and is costing the industry more than Bt50 million.

Hat Yai-Songkhla Hotel Business Association President Somchart Pimthanapoonporn said that the Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel car bombing last Saturday that killed three persons–including two Malaysians–and wounded over 350 tourists and shoppers, has significantly affected the tourism business in the province.

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