Juthamas Siriwan has helped steer Thailand's tourism industry through economic recessions, two wars in the Middle East, even the threat of regional terrorism after the Bali bombing.
But the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand admits that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak, is the "most serious problem" yet to threaten the country's largest foreign exchange earner.
Although Thailand has been spared the worst of the infection with just seven cases, including two deaths and five recoveries, it has not escaped the dramatic drop in foreign visitor arrivals that has hit the region.
And the consequences are rippling through the country's tourism industry.
Juthamas has risen to this latest challenge with the same pragmatism and determination that has characterised her rise from junior officer to the first woman to head the all-important authority.
"Being a Buddhist maybe helps," says the petite 55-year old. "Anything that has to happen, happens. Just accept it, and then you focus, and handle the situation."
Indeed it was the very challenges offered by the industry that attracted her to it in the first place.
An MBA graduate from New York University, Juthamas started out as a secretary to the director of the country's budget bureau. "Since my background was in finance, it should have been suitable as my career, but maybe it wasn't suited to my character," she laughs. "You knew when you woke up what you were going to do that day, and you had your schedule fixed for the whole year!"
When the then-governor of tourism offered her an opportunity to move in 1978, she took it, and shortly after plunged straight into her first experience at crisis management. "There was a recession, and the Thai Government used tourism as the main tool to tackle the problem," she recalls.
Experiences with past crises have come to bear on the latest to rock the region, with her key strategies remaining unchanged: "In any crisis you first have to go and give information directly to the press so that people can weigh it and know if it is true or not," she said. "And then you approach the trade and see how you can best market your country in the (given) situation."
After the September 11 attacks on the US, Juthamas "travelled everywhere, talking to the press and the people, especially in New York. I went to see my colleagues, met with editors and managing directors of the main media, and held a press conference". Within a month, numbers began climbing once again. In 2002, Thailand saw a record 10.8 million international visitors resulting in US$7.7 billion in revenue. This month, the governor will head to Japan, the UK and Germany to meet tour representatives and the media to assure them that Thailand is Sars-free. On her return, she will stop in Japan once again to launch an international marketing campaign offering discounts for airlines, hotels and attractions just too good to pass up.
Juthamas calls the 'Smile Plus' campaign, which will run concurrently with the soon-to-be launched 'Beautiful beyond' campaign, a bonus. "We joined with the private sector to make (coming to Thailand even) more value for money," she says.
In the interim, she is banking on the domestic 'Unseen Thailand' campaign, promoting lesser-known destinations in the country, to generate some of the lost foreign revenue. In the midst of the worst crisis the region has seen in a long time, Juthamas remains confident that the tide will turn sooner rather than later and that numbers will begin to return possibly as early as June.
"We all have to work harder, but we have confidence that tourists will come back very soon."
JUTHAMAS: ON THE RECORD
Being on top I don't differentiate myself from my male (colleagues).
When you work, you don't take gender as an excuse. I am very proud to be the first lady governor of the TAT, especially when tourism is the most popular industry in the country. And I'd like to be a role model.
Sars storm I think in the third-quarter it will be much better. For two or three months, we'll have to just bear with it.
Silver lining It's not as if we don't love our neighbors, but Thailand can be a good sanctuary, even for Singaporeans who want to take leave from their country (for a while). I would like to say that Thailand may be a place they can hide away from Sars.
Beautiful beyond This campaign will launch very soon. We are promoting Thailand as a place where tourists don't only see the difference, they also feel the difference. It is our umbrella campaign for the year but it got stuck because of the crisis.
Work addiction I work seven days a week, from nine to nine. You can say I'm addicted to my work.