Thai hotel leader predicts continued tourism misery in 2022

[webfact]

Marisa Sukosol Nunphakdee. File photo: 

 

After Thailand tourism minister and the governor of the TAT came up with their latest bullish predictions and strategies - as reported today on ASEAN NOW - the chairwoman of the Thai Hoteliers' Association has made more sober judgments.

 

Marisa Sukosol Nunphakdee was talking at Thammasat University's "2022 Survival Guide" forum.

 

She predicted that next year more small hotels would go to the wall and close. 

 

The sector needs to shift their focus to domestic tourism and press the government to reengage with the Chinese over encouraging the return of their nationals to Thailand. 

 

Marisa predicted around 300,000 foreign tourists a month thru 2022 making an assessment of 3.9 million for the year.

 

She agreed with the government and TAT, however, that aiming for VoVs - value over volume tourists - was the way to go for future sustainability. 

 

And agreed that it was an opportune time to seek new markets to take up the slack.

 

She said that basically 2021 had been a washout with only 300,000 to 400,000 foreign tourists coming in the entire year. 

 

This compares to 40 MILLION pre-pandemic, notes ASEAN NOW with around 20% of those thought to be Chinese. 

 

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[Maha Sarakham]

Re-engaging with the Chinese to bring back quality tourists in place of mass-market tourism... she clearly has no idea what she's talking about.

[GeorgeCross]

9 minutes ago, Maha Sarakham said:

Re-engaging with the Chinese to bring back quality tourists in place of mass-market tourism... she clearly has no idea what she's talking about.

no, you not understand, she only wants rich chinese tourists.. and lots of them ????

 

would love to be a fly on the wall when that idea gets floated!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by GeorgeCross

[bkk6060]

`Rich Chinese go to Maldives, France and the U.S.  All those tour buses in 2019 with millions of Chinese were not rich but much older folks who looked like they were on their first trip out of China.

Thailand needs to realize who they are and focus on back packers and male entertainment tourism. 

[trainman34014]

Her numbers are most likely a lot nearer the mark than the Idiots at TAT who are merely Puppets of the Military 'Generals' calling themselves a 'Democratic Government '.  The Mouthpieces of any Government Organisation are instructed to only predict good things, something revered in Thailand where they all want to look 'clever'.

[ExpatOilWorker]

She needs to be sent off the a attitude adjustment camp immediately, but in the capacity as an instructor and the entire TAT team as her humble students.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The sector needs to shift their focus to domestic tourism and press the government to reengage with the Chinese over encouraging the return of their nationals to Thailand. 

Omicron has just screwed or at last stalled tourism certainly for the first half of next year.

Only the SHA+ type hotels will have any customers due to the quarantine regs returning.

The lesser hotels and guest houses are in for a tough time

As for Chinese tourists returning, Xi is keeping them at home, he needs the revenue for his own cash reserves.

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Thailand needs to realize who they are and focus on back packers and male entertainment tourism. 

A gigantic "sin-bin"?

[ChipButty]

Rich Chinese go to Europe and America for shopping, It's cheaper

[kg1947]

MILLIONS of India's rich quality tourists -- visiting en-masse to Thailand ?

hmmmmm......  

[Mavideol]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

She predicted that next year more small hotels would go to the wall and close. 

that's unfortunately but Agree with her

[RichardColeman]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

After Thailand tourism minister and the governor of the TAT came up with their latest bullish predictions

i'm guess 'bullish' was predictive text

[RichardColeman]

14 minutes ago, kg1947 said:

MILLIONS of India's rich quality tourists -- visiting en-masse to Thailand ?

hmmmmm......  

Let's be honest, if the uk gets bad with its relatively good health care system, imagine the effects of omicron with a billion or so indians crammed together in hovels, mass gathering in domestic travel and chucking more dead in the river !

[Cake Monster]

4 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

`Rich Chinese go to Maldives, France and the U.S.  All those tour buses in 2019 with millions of Chinese were not rich but much older folks who looked like they were on their first trip out of China.

Thailand needs to realize who they are and focus on back packers and male entertainment tourism. 

Yes indeed !

Thailand really does need to realize who they are exactly.

Thailand is just another little Country that is Tourism reliant. They are in the same melting pot with all the others that also need Tourists right now to bolster their ailing economies.

Once the Queen of Asia, the Country has lost that Crown, and is now not such a " must see, and experience " destination, and really needs to focus on Tourism of all kinds to attract ( not lure ) people back to the Country.

There is an old, and very true saying within business.

Never put all your eggs into One basket, always make sure you are not reliant upon just one customer..

Well thats what Thailand did by courting so many Chinese Tourists, and they are now paying a heavy price for an amateurish, and suicidal course of action taken during the previous decade. 

Once the customer has gone elsewhere, its extremely difficult to get them back if they are settled and happy, and you can bet your House, that the Countries that now have Thailands Tourists, will be bending over backwards to keep them.

Needless to say that when the Chinese are allowed to travel again, they will probably be the only customer for "Amazing Thailand"

[thaivisareader]

way off the mark if she thinks chinese package tourists are wealthy or 'quality' (whatever that means). She needs a reality check on the history of tourism in Thailand. It had nothing to do with big spenders and everything to do with westerners mingling with friendly, graceful Thai people and cheap, freewheeling, naughty holidays for a couple three weeks. That's gone now. Let it come back or forget the millions returning. There was nothing really hugely upscale about Thailand except the ordinary Thais themselves. 

[digger70]

He doesn't have to Predict that Everyone knows that already.

[Excel]

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

Yes indeed !

Thailand really does need to realize who they are exactly.

Thailand is just another little Country that is Tourism reliant. They are in the same melting pot with all the others that also need Tourists right now to bolster their ailing economies.

Once the Queen of Asia, the Country has lost that Crown, and is now not such a " must see, and experience " destination, and really needs to focus on Tourism of all kinds to attract ( not lure ) people back to the Country.

There is an old, and very true saying within business.

Never put all your eggs into One basket, always make sure you are not reliant upon just one customer..

Well thats what Thailand did by courting so many Chinese Tourists, and they are now paying a heavy price for an amateurish, and suicidal course of action taken during the previous decade. 

Once the customer has gone elsewhere, its extremely difficult to get them back if they are settled and happy, and you can bet your House, that the Countries that now have Thailands Tourists, will be bending over backwards to keep them.

Needless to say that when the Chinese are allowed to travel again, they will probably be the only customer for "Amazing Thailand"

But probably will find Vietnam or Cambodia more accommodating for them.

[Farmerslife]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

She predicted that next year more small hotels would go to the wall and close. 

The hotel industry has catered for up to 40 million tourists pre-covid. After the almost non-existent tourist numbers for the past year coupled with only a forecasted 3.9 million for next year then it won't just be the small hotels going to the wall. The big hotels are less well placed to adapt and survive than their smaller cousins.

[thaibook]

Quick and dirty survey:

 

who owns a property rented out through airbnb or similar and how is it doing?

- same as before covid, down but still making money, losing money but not desperate, trying to sell

- who was the target customer?

 

who owns a property targeted at foreign tourists and how is it doing?

- same as before covid, down but still making money, losing money but not desperate, trying to sell

- who was the target customer?

[Stargeezr]

With the Omicron variant of COVID spiking cases all over the world, it is looking like

2023 may be the year that some recovery may happen. The first part of 2022 will

be the continuation of what is happening now. Thailand will be lucky to get 100,000 tourists

in the first half of 2022.

[BumGun]

On 12/21/2021 at 1:19 PM, Stargeezr said:

With the Omicron variant of COVID spiking cases all over the world, it is looking like

2023 may be the year that some recovery may happen

Until the next variant. This was all said about Delta as well.  We failed dismally to share vaccinations to the world, so it has to keep happening.

Edited December 22, 2021 by BumGun