Haze hits Songkran hotel bookings in Chiang Mai

[webfact]

Haze hits Songkran hotel bookings in Chiang Mai

By SAKAORAT SIRIMA, 
NATTAWAT LAPING 
THE NATION 

 

File photo

 

THE SMOG crisis has taken its toll on the North’s tourism, with a significant drop seen in hotel-room bookings even in Chiang Mai, which is otherwise hugely popular as a destination for Songkran celebrations.

 

“Thai tourists are worried that the haze will harm their health,” La-iad Boonsrithong, the president of the Upper North Hotels Association, said yesterday.

 

The amount of PM2.5 in the air – particles not more than 2.5 micrometres in diameter – has exceeded the safe limits in Chiang Mai for a few months already. 

 

Highlight of the year

 

Songkran is one of Thailand’s most colourful events, with millions of people – including foreigners – celebrating the festival across the country from April 13 to 15 every year. 

 

“Normally, bookings for Songkran would be more than 85 per cent of total occupancy in Chiang Mai by now. But because of the smog problem this year, the bookings are only 60 per cent,” La-iad said. 

 

Pakanan Vinijchai, who heads the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Chiang Mai Office, said 5 per cent of Thai tourists had either cancelled their advance bookings or postponed their trip to Chiang Mai.

 

“We believe they are closely monitoring the situation,” she said, adding that no foreigners have cancelled their advance bookings over the smog to date. 

“But Chiang Mai’s main tourists during Songkran are Thais,” Pakanan said. 

 

La-iad said hotels in the haze-affected northern provinces were now trying to ease the smog by sprinkling water from high-rise buildings. 

 

TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn, meanwhile, admitted that the smog problem would likely dent the tourism income of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and other nearby provinces by Bt2 billion. 

 

“But I trust that tourists are just switching to lesser-known destinations,” he said. 

 

Chiang Rai Industrial Council’s acting president Kitti Tissakul said the number of tourists in the province had dropped by between 10 and 20 per cent because of smog. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30367021

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-03

[davehowden]

Good, I am glad that bookings are down, because the only thing that Thais understand is money, and losing income might just make them do something about the smoke.

[SoilSpoil]

Imagine that foreign media start reporting that the air quality is only decent in the rainy season? 

[WeekendRaider]

this is when officials will become alarmed.  it will be forgotten later by everyone soon enough even if it involves air travel and tourism, not merely a few hundred thousand folk's health and enjoyment of life.  almost as recently as any of these worsening smog events,  'Los Ninos' was easily subsumed by us all as just another record ENSO, like 1997... which we were still studying in 2015 because it was such a dangerous anomaly as well as for the little factoid everyone is either ignorant of or in denial....... we only have 60 years of basic oceanographic data on the ENSO, and have to rely on proxies such as sea creatures that died and fell to the bottom of the ocean to have any idea how serious the ENSO probably will work out to be, today not in 2100 something.  which if it plays out as expected at all, even in an almost neutral ENSO condition such as we have in April 2019..... means this entire event is a harbinger of things that will make this look like the good old days way back in April 2019. 

but not 10 or 20 or 30 years from now.  it could be in a few more years.... or 2020 which is what the climate models are currently indicating could be a El Nino or another 'Los Ninos'.  no one knows.  we have a few 'clues' (proxies) such as by using the ratio of oxygen isotopes in planktonic foraminifera to predict if and how many chambers are loaded in the game of Russian roulette we are now playing with, all of us not just SE Asian rice farmers.             

[alant]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

no foreigners have cancelled their advance bookings over the smog to date.

they tend to not book rather than book and then cancel which often has a penalty.

[cerox]

Nothing to worry about, the problem will be solved in 7 days, enough time until Songkran ????

[Katipo]

I'm 60 surprised they still have 60% occupancy. Who in their right minds would expose their lungs to that air? Foreign tourists who aren't aware of the situation maybe? I can't imagine anyone would willingly put themselves or their loved ones in harms way like that.

[cerox]

Most foreigners I think do not know about that.

When I first came to Thailand, which was also my first country far away and in Asia, I did not know about air pollution at all.

Esp. if you are young and from a "air-clean" country it is a surprise at first.

[JoePai]

1 hour ago, SoilSpoil said:

Imagine that foreign media start reporting that the air quality is only decent in the rainy season? 

They already have - see this from Bloomberg :

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-02/wildfires-thicken-air-over-thailand-into-planet-s-most-toxic

[Thailand]

It's dangerous smog, not bloody haze!

[fruitman]

12 minutes ago, JoePai said:

They already have - see this from Bloomberg :

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-02/wildfires-thicken-air-over-thailand-into-planet-s-most-toxic

 

But this leafblower is going to end it very soon.....

[vivid]

Actually, haze is technically a correct term to be used, and is "recognised" by the WMO.  Of course, smog can also be used for the current situation....no problem at all.

 

Over in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, haze is used, and the population knows exactly what Haze means and that includes the intended meaning of describing extremely severe air pollution for biomass smouldering fires.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haze

Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates obscure the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification of horizontal obscuration into categories of fog, ice fog, steam fog, mist, haze, smoke, volcanic ash, dust, sand, and snow.^[1] Sources for haze particles include farming (ploughing in dry weather), traffic, industry, and wildfires.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smog

Smog is a type of severe air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century as a blending of the words smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog, its opacity, and odor.^[1] This kind of visible air pollution is composed of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, ozone, smoke and other particulates. Man-made smog is derived from coal combustion emissions, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, forest and agricultural fires and photochemical reactions of these emissions.

[sammieuk1]

24hrs after the visit the house 20m from my window is still hazy Doi non existent 6 days and counting general ????  

[cerox]

They are on it, only 6 days left now, started yesterday ????

[vivid]

40 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

24hrs after the visit the house 20m from my window is still hazy Doi non existent 6 days and counting general ????  

Bro, where are you located?  20m sounds bad-ass, that seems like 200-300m visibility max.

 

It is also likely that you can see the smoke in the house as well, esp just below the downlights etc.  

[sammieuk1]

1 minute ago, vivid said:

Bro, where are you located?  20m sounds bad-ass, that seems like 200-300m visibility max.

 

It is also likely that you can see the smoke in the house as well, esp just below the downlights etc.  

I think the only thing in Hang Dong keeping me seeing the house opposite at all is the constant landing planes on their final approach ????

[JimSaints]

I hear from my Embassy that they will warn people not to go CM

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

THE SMOG crisis has taken its toll on the North’s tourism, with a significant drop seen in hotel-room bookings even in Chiang Mai, which is otherwise hugely popular as a destination for Songkran celebrations.

Excellent news, when it hits the pockets of Thais something might happen... 

[Rockhopper]

Thailand is a first world country with a third world mentality and governed by baboons. Nothing will be done about the smoke because the "elite" don't care and the police are too lazy to act. Perpetrators are punished with a slap on the wrist. Nothing will change . 

[Vacuum]

2 hours ago, JimSaints said:

I hear from my Embassy that they will warn people not to go CM

Good.

[vivid]

3 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

I think the only thing in Hang Dong keeping me seeing the house opposite at all is the constant landing planes on their final approach ????

From what i can see, yesterday was a pretty bad day for Hang dong, peaking at AQI 552 at 8AM.

[khunpa]

I wonder how many % of those who come to CM, will never return and also warn many others of never coming?

 

I live in CM and have had to move my family away, until the air is much better. Nobody wants a holiday wearing a mask and feeling the side effects of the bad air.

 

I would not recommend anyone to go to CM. It is right now hell on earth and you will no believe how horrible it is, unless you have actually tried it.

 

I am happy people are staying away. Nobody should risk their health and every embassy should warn people not to go.

 

Although I love CM, it is right now the last place on earth I would want to be.

[sanemax]

Why is the smog so bad this year ?