(More) incentives sought for tourism

By The Nation 

 

 

BUSINESSES are calling on the government to come up with incentives to shore up the tourism industry, such as further liberalisation on visas that include fee waivers for citizens of countries that are still required to apply.

 

The appeals were made after Thailand recorded only slight growth in visitor number for the first two months, following a downturn last year.

 

The number of tourists visiting Thailand in January and February was 7.29 million, up 2.53 per cent from the same period of last year, and tourism-based income edged up 0.77 per cent to Bt387 billion.

 

Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), said that, in the first quarter of this year, the number of foreign visitors is expected to improve slightly from the same quarter of last year, with close attention paid to the inflows from China.

 

Throughout the year, the number of Chinese visitors is expected to be at least 11 million, and the inflows are projected to have returned to normal in March. At least 1 million Chinese visited on each the first two months of the year, and this slightly lower than for the same period a year before.

 

Tourism operators, including tour agencies and hotels, are worried that the industry will grow only slightly and is need of government stimulus measures, particularly visa-fee exemptions for those visitors who do not enjoy visa-free conditions.

 

In the second quarter of this year, the tourism industry is forecast to continue facing the hazardous dust problem, particularly in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, which are the main destinations for Chinese and other foreign tourists.

 

Aside from the need for urgency in easing the air pollution, Thailand should carry out proactive marketing strategies through visa measures such as visa-on-arrival (VOA) fee exemption. Advocates of the VOA fee exemption are proposing to the Cabinet that it extend the expiration to October 31. The initiative is set to expire on April 30.

 

Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, senior vice president of finance and administration at Central Plaza Hotel Plc, which operates its hotels under the banner of Centara Hotels, concedes that the overall hotel business in the first and second quarters of this year may be worse than in the same periods of last year.

 

Tourism in the first quarter of this year has suffered the lingering effects of a slump in Chinese arrivals, triggered by the sinking of a tour boat off Phuket that killed dozens of mostly Chinese visitors in the second half of last year. There has also been the impact of the US-China trade war, which has prompted Chinese tourists to bargain more on hotel rates, Ronnachit said. As well, troubles in the Russian economy have affected visitor numbers, and new hotels have been added in every tourism city.

 

 “Thai hotel business in the first half of this year is different from the first half of last year, which was relatively very strong,” Ronnachit said.

 

“The number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand in the first two months had not much growth compared to the same period of last year, with a relatively high base. We hope the situation will improve in the latter half (of this year) from the stimulus measures on the tourist market, particularly the VOA fee exemption measure, on which the government is considering an extension.”

 

Hotels under the Centara Hotels brand have launched marketing campaigns to attract foreign tourists from other countries to make up the slump in Chinese travellers. The promising markets that the company has identified include India, South Korea, Japan, France and Germany.

 

Other potential problems for the hotel business include the country’s political uncertainties, which could affect the meeting, incentive travel, conventions, and exhibitions segment.

 

 In the first quarter of this year, before the March 24 election, the foreign MICE market has slowed down slightly as people waited for a clearer political situation to emerge. More events are expected to be held after a new government is formed.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Tourism/30367928

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-19

Instead of schemes, why not take care of the ones you get so they want to return and can return. 

 

Tackle the pollution issue so tourists don’t have to wear masks on their holidays in some cities, hire van and bus drivers who don’t think they are NASCAR drivers, and knock it off with the blatant inflated pricing. Seeing signs that say Thai 20b and Foreigners 400b is offensive.

 

It’s not hard. Don’t rip them off, don’t harm them, and don’t kill them. Make them feel welcome and they will return.

Maybe stop arresting them for silly things like e-cigarettes and improve the vehicle and watercraft death rates. Just an idea.

Make visa renewal simplistic. 

4 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Make visa renewal simplistic. 

While I agree, from a Thai bureaucratic perspective, that must be an oxymoron.

How about devaluing the Baht, the main reason is plain to see Thailand has become too expensive......

Could stop killing them then they may return ????

Ask the BMA not to ruin popular destinations.  Allow for longer stay periods.  Allow for all night partying .  Stop trying to sanitize and dilute the culture.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

BUSINESSES are calling on the government to come up with incentives to shore up the tourism industry

must read "to lure"

4 hours ago, webfact said:

(More) incentives sought for tourism

The headline I would like to see is …. More incentives sought FROM tourists …. such as, tourist safety, single tier pricing, less tourist rip off's,  consistent immigration policy for a start.

You could spend all this money and look for new "incentives" to generate new tourists.

 

Or you could spend money on the tourists you already have.

 

Make sure they are safe, not ripped off, not overcharged, give clean beaches to swim in and feel valued in Thailand so that they want to come back, and they tell all their friends how wonderful Thailand is.

 

Having to always look for new customers will eventually end in failure.

BJ is in Usa, the first stop on a world tour to promote Thai tourism.

 

7 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

BJ is in Usa, the first stop on a world tour to promote Thai tourism.

I wondered if you really meant as soon as he arrived in the US, everyone left to avoid him and came here?

Desperation is setting in. GDP growth is in decline, exports are in decline.

Solution, milk tourism, the one remaining bright star, for all it's worth and to hell with the destruction of the environment. 

Open the doors wider to the Chinese and Indians and welcome them in and the money will follow.

Come on guys...you are really going to confuse the powers that be. How are they going to wrap their heads around all those suggestions. Geez.

Ending visa requirements for those from most of Africa and Pakistan would be a real boon ????

44 minutes ago, Borzandy said:

must read "to lure"

IMO translation using 'lure' rather than 'attract' in the context of tourism is evidence of a translator who knows their job.

5 minutes ago, mokwit said:

53 minutes ago, Borzandy said:

must read "to lure"

IMO translation using 'lure' rather than 'attract' in the context of tourism is evidence of a translator who knows their job.

I saw it as a cynical comment.

1 minute ago, bluesofa said:

I saw it as a cynical comment.

So did I, I was backing him up.

Improve the infrastructure ! Sewage treatment plants actually do work ????

why do the chinese get thier own immigration line at airport? 

1 hour ago, Geoffggi said:

How about devaluing the Baht, the main reason is plain to see Thailand has become too expensive......

February 2019:

• “The overshooting baht doesn’t align with economic fundamentals and could hurt growth,” - Teerana Bhongmakapat, former dean of economics at Chulalongkorn University
• "If the MPC [Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee] continues to flag concerns about policy space and search for yield, market expectations that the Thai interest rate is on the way up – even as neighbouring countries are lowering theirs – will continue."    

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/business/30363467

PM Prayut doesn't appear however to press BOT for a rate increase, perhaps because it will increase domestic inflation - a negative economic affect that Prayut's economic policies stand blame.

When too many people continually visit ones house for a party, the house becomes in disarray and trashed. Doesn’t Thailand see mass-tourism doing this to their country?  Too many visitors wearing down the (once) pristine beaches, historical sites, and infrastructure. 

5 hours ago, dcnx said:

Instead of schemes, why not take care of the ones you get so they want to return and can return. 

 

Tackle the pollution issue so tourists don’t have to wear masks on their holidays in some cities, hire van and bus drivers who don’t think they are NASCAR drivers, and knock it off with the blatant inflated pricing. Seeing signs that say Thai 20b and Foreigners 400b is offensive.

 

It’s not hard. Don’t rip them off, don’t harm them, and don’t kill them. Make them feel welcome and they will return.

And don't forget to woo the retired expats, on average they bring in 50,000 baht per month, excluding the money the investment in houses, cars, motorbikes and families.

Maybe quit with dual pricing?

14 minutes ago, Curt1591 said:

Maybe quit with dual pricing?

Can't do that.

We need some sort of magic spin doctor to come up with something that will make the visitors believe they are getting a bargain by paying more.

Stop the impolitness. 

Stop the agressive mannerisms. 

Stop the over charges and the one price for Thai another for foreigners. 

Stop the police targeting foreigners for tea money. 

Stop the filth and dirt.

Get rid of street dogs. 

Make it safer to walk on sidewalks and go out.

Stop beach vendors plus street vendor harassments. 

Stop aggressive taxi plus motor cycle taxi drivers.

Stop many things.

 

Make visa applications easier with far less red tape BS. 

 

Tourists visit a place to relax, enjoy and get value for money, which Thailand is not! 

 

Without tourist and expat investments, what would Thailand really be like? 

 

Thai should open their eyes and be more thankful. 

Marketing studies have proven time and time again that the costs of acquiring a new customer are always several times higher than turning a past customer into a repeat customer. There is no reason why tourism would be any different in this regard. In fact, in the case of tourism taking the necessary steps to improve the overall experience to increase customer retention rates would result in great benefits to both native residents and expats also. As an expat I’m tired of being treated as a walking potential cash grab by the locals and it’s clear that this type of prevalent attitude is a reflection of the tourist ministry’s “quantity over quality” objectives.

2 hours ago, yogavnture said:

why do the chinese get thier own immigration line at airport? 

Cause 47 Chinese were killed on a boat that never should have been allowed to sail out with passengers

Talk about the epitome of cognitive dissonance.  On one hand you hate the ground that foreigners walk upon; on the other hand your livelihood depends on being able to generate income from foreigners.  But it's pretty easy to see as the disdain boils right below the surface.  When it erupts, foreigners get hurt.  If the foreigner is Chinese, then the numbers of Chinese tourist falls.  Then business begin "calling on the government to come up with incentives to shore up the tourism industry" yada, yada, yada.  

 

Thais, being 'real' people', as opposed to foreigners who are 'different people', don't seem to grasp the root causes.