Thailand tourism situation

[buksida]

Thai immigration say ‘WE NEED TOURIST’S MONEY’
The Thailand immigration has told his department not to be too strict on tourists and scare them away from returning to Thailand.

He has asked for his men and women to show some humanity.

And he has stated plainly that Thailand needs the tourists’ money.

Lt-Gen Sompong – also known as Big Oud – was on a visit to his team in Mae Hong Son in northern Thailand. He took some life-saving presents including Mama noodles but it was his words that will reverberate around the tourism sector.

His statements seemed to be a softening of the “bad guys out” rhetoric replacing it with a “please come back to Thailand we need you” message.

He told his minions not to be over-zealous.

Follow the government’s directives and abide by the law and due process, but don’t be too strict and scare away the tourists and other foreign visitors, he warned

He pointed out that immigration have a job to do as police but immigration officers should not be a hindrance and should show professionalism with humanity and compassion.

The tourists bring in a lot of money, he noted, and we need it

https://pattayaone.news/thai-immigratio ... sts-money/

[buksida]

Not enough tourists for Koh Samui hotels
Hoteliers in Koh Samui are suffering from oversupply, dragging down the occupancy rate.

The occupancy rate on the island during the final quarter this year, as of Dec 20, has plunged to 30% from 50% in the same period of 2018, said Vorasit Pongkumpunt, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui.

During the last two weeks of December, the occupancy rate should rise to 90%, putting it at 50% for the year.

He attributed the low figures to the strong baht and trade war, as major markets such as the Chinese flock to cheaper beach destinations in Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The slowdown will linger into the first quarter next year, considered the high season for the island.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... mui-hotels

[buksida]

Tourism far from festive for New Year
Tourism operators anticipate a gloomy New Year's period, citing the strong currency as keeping foreign holidaymakers at home.

Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), said despite a huge influx of Chinese arrivals this year, Thailand is unlikely to gain much of a windfall from the New Year's Eve event cancellations in Hong Kong due to public safety concerns.

He said instead of Thailand, Chinese tourists are spending their year-end trips at cheaper short-haul destinations such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.

The association projects Thailand to receive about 11 million Chinese visitors this year. As of Dec 10, some 2.95 million tourists from China visited Thailand using the services of Atta members, down 2.48% year-on-year.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... r-new-year

Hmm, funny how hotel occupancy and ATTA figures are down yet TAT's are always up.

[oakdale160]

This has to be read in conjunction with your other post about the rising popularity of VN.

[caller]

From the Bangkok Post article:

The overall occupancy rate in major cities is expected to pick up during the last two weeks of December regardless of economic challenges, she said.

Next year will be another difficult one for the hotel industry, considering the unstable global situation that should dent the travel market and lower spending during trips, said Ms Supawan.

The first para may well be true, but at what cost? Just as last year, I will be staying at the Pullman in Khon Kaen for 3 nights over Christmas, but I am paying 50% less for the same room type than last year (pre-booked at about the same time).

What is the unstable global situation he talks of? It seems the World has avoided a widely predicted financial crisis and the US and China seem to be getting their act together, although the Chinese economy is still struggling.

The worry for Thai tourism is that even if the Baht comes down in value, people might not return if they have found other places they like.

[PeteC]

Everyone and their mother has been blaming the USA/China trade war for anything and everything that goes wrong with their particular economy. It's become as common a go-to line as "my country's internal affairs" when they don't have anything else intelligent to say.

[dtaai-maai]

Leaving the exchange rate to one side for a moment, do forum members consider the tourist slump to be a Good Thing or a Bad Thing (those who remember '1066 and All That' will know what I mean...)?

[buksida]

Personally I think it is a bad thing. I live in a tiny tourist beach town and the knock-on effect on small local businesses is devastating, many have closed down this year, resorts are empty and nearly everything is for sale.

Those needing an income out of tourism are suffering, those that have eggs in other baskets or fat pensions probably don't give a hoot.

[caller]

Leaving the exchange rate to one side for a moment, do forum members consider the tourist slump to be a Good Thing or a Bad Thing (those who remember '1066 and All That' will know what I mean...)?

I think if you are already here and not in a tourist related business, then it's a good thing (I must get that book again, I think my copy eventually fell apart). Internal flights around the Country are cheap (albeit not from HH) and you can pick up great hotel deals as I recently did in Krabi and eating out down there was really cheap by comparison, which helps compensate for the poor value of the pound.

[stretch]

Went in to town yesterday first time in a long time lots of bars are closing or closed down also restaurants in same boat and the price of a small beer has risen tourists are not fools Thailand tourism is dying on its feet.

[HHTel]

I've noticed recently that more and more bars are closing one day a week. Never used to see that except in some restaurants.

[handdrummer]

Conversely, I was in MV around 6 pm this evening and it was packed with Farangs. I could hardly get up and down the aisles in Tesco for all the shopping carts loaded with stuff.

[dtaai-maai]

Conversely, I was in MV around 6 pm this evening and it was packed with Farangs. I could hardly get up and down the aisles in Tesco for all the shopping carts loaded with stuff.

And yet not a single tourist amongst them! The usual pre-Christmas panic shopping...

[Nereus]

Tourist arrivals surpass last year's record on Indian's visit

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... t#cxrecs_s

Thailand has exceeded the record for foreign tourist arrivals set last year with the 38,260,000th visitor reaching the country on Friday.

The tourist from India, Devanshi Deepak Kesaria, also broke the record of 1.9 million arrivals from India, said Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, deputy governor of marketing for Asia and South Pacific at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Ms Kesaria, who flew from Mumbai with friends, will get two free round-trip tickets and accommodation for her next trip to Thailand.
She is visiting Thailand for the first time and plans to enjoy the beaches in Pattaya, Thai food and shopping.

The Indian market has grown significantly, projected at 22% growth in arrivals this year to 1.9 million, with 85 billion baht in tourism revenue, a 27% uptick.

Mr Chattan said the TAT plans to beef up this market by leading some 30 operators to participate in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange 2020 in New Delhi next month. In July, it will conduct roadshows in four cities: Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Jaipur.

Marketing promotions with airlines will be offered throughout next year to induce Indian tourism, especially from secondary provinces such as Jaipur, Srinagar and Pune, Mr Chattan said.

The TAT projects foreign arrivals this year at 39.8 million, generating 1.96 trillion baht, up 4% in both volume and value from last year. Next year's arrivals figure is set at 40.8 million, up 2.5%, with 2.02 trillion baht in income, a 3% rise.

The extension in operating hours at border checkpoints such as 24-hour operation at the Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint between Thailand and Malaysia until June 16, 2020 will also facilitate tourists from Malaysia.

Mr Yuthasak has raised concerns over negative conditions that could obstruct growth next year, including the strong baht, trade wars between the US and China (as well as South Korea and Japan), Japan's consumption tax rise and Brexit.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the waiver of visa-on-arrival fees and tourism stimulus plans, including more spots for tourists to claim value-added tax refunds, are measures to draw tourists next year.

He said next year's world events hosted by Japan and Dubai will attract tourists from around the globe and could reduce visits to Thailand. Additionally, visa facilitation offered by Taiwan, Vietnam and Georgia will induce more travel.

For domestic tourism, Mr Yuthasak expects Thais to make 167 million trips this year with 1.1 trillion baht in tourism receipts, up 1% and 3% respectively. Next year, the figure will be 172 million trips for 1.16 trillion baht, up 3% and 5% from 2019.

He said new infrastructure such as the Jira-Khon Kaen double-track railway, Bang Yai-Kanchanaburi motorway, Bang Pa-in-Nakhon Ratchasima highway and Betong airport will boost domestic travel.

The strong baht, new routes offered by low-cost airlines and a visa exemption for Thais to Asian countries should lure Thais to travel abroad, Mr Yuthasak said.

[PeteC]

I personally don't believe it. They must be counting people who really aren't tourists, like foreign nationals who go back and forth daily via land borders, business visitors, and foreign residents who come and go.

Would be nice to see a breakdown by nationality to see how many are Lao, Malaysian, Cambodian and Burmese.