Six people found dead at Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Bangkok | Tourism News

Authorities in Thailand have said the six people are all foreigners. Investigations into their deaths are ongoing.

Six people have been found dead at an upmarket hotel in Bangkok, the Thai government said.

“The prime minister [Srettha Thavisin] has ordered all agencies to urgently take action to avoid impact on tourism,” the Thai government said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a separate statement, the Thai police said that the six people were all foreign nationals.

Police officers explained that they found the deceased at the Grand Hyatt Erawan after receiving a call from the hotel’s staff at around 5.30pm (10:30 GMT).

A police official also dismissed earlier reports in Thai media that the six people had been killed in a shooting.

“There is no sign of a shooting,” the official told Reuters, adding that there were Vietnamese nationals among the dead.

The Grand Hyatt Erawan, which has more than 350 rooms, is located in a popular tourist district known for luxury shopping and restaurants.

Tuesday’s incident comes as Thailand looks to further promote its tourism sector, a key driver of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.

But this isn’t the first time the country’s tourism sector has been shaken by such incidents. Last October, a shooting spree at a luxury shopping mall, close to the Hyatt, killed two foreigners, prompting government measures to improve confidence in tourism.

More than 28 million foreign tourists visited Thailand last year, spending 1.2 trillion baht ($33.3bn) in the country, where other key sectors of the economy have been slow in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government expects 35 million foreign arrivals this year, on the back of longer visa stay periods and waivers for several nationalities.