2008 Thailand Inbound Tourism Statistics

[klikster]

Yes it is scary, yet when I try book a room in Phuket, it seems that despite these dire in-bound numbers, the hotels are still demanding top dollar. Example, hotels in Kata that charge 1500 baht a night in Nov, have jumped their rates to over 5000 baht per night starting in Dec. High season I know, but that only applies when there actually is one.

Needless to say, I didn't book any rooms in Phuket for the upcoming long weekend in Dec.

Front desks all over Thailand may well be under-worked this high season.

[Koo82]

Koos, PAD blocking a few airports didn't affect tourism

nearly as much as Oil and plane fare prices.

That was a minor blip in the scale of things.

The current fund crisis is the main reason but what PAD has done does create a bad image that people will change their destination for their next trip. Many people who are in Thailand recently have paid for their trip well in advance. Otherwise they don't come.

Oil price has gone down.

People will still travel to the South Thailand, knowing very few tourists are there and they have the beaches to their own.

[Koo82]

My (ex-wife's!) hotel at Phuket is full tonight, as it was last night. The current room-rate of 2,500 baht per night doesn't seem to put anyone off. As for peak season around Xmas, we are already fully booked on many of those days.

I do believe that tourist numbers are down, and maybe we are lucky with our 'niche' market by the airport. In Patong, it's a buyers' market as many hotels are competing and cutting their prices.

BTW, if you think our room-rate is high, it is the cheapest in this locality! Other hotels nearby are charging 3,600 baht per night up to 12,000 baht per night - and still getting customers.

Simon

Simon...I'm confused.

I've been reading over some of your past post. You write about needing a job. Trying to get Teaching English jobs, another recent post you are talking about going back to the UK to work for a while and save up some money and come back!!

But then you also write about "My hotel" and "allways full".

Is it your hotel or not?

Did you buy the hotel in your ex wifes name?

Do you have a partnership arrangement?

Do you recieve income?

Or have you been Rodgered like so many other Farangs that come to Thailand?

Have you done your money?

Whats the story dude?

When he said the hotel is full, do people think that it is a 400 room hotel?

[LaoPo]

On another note, the data seems to confirm the impression that the Russian are, in fact, coming in greater numbers.

The increase in numbers of Russians is quite high (+46% in 2007 versus 2006) but the overall percentage is still low.

1,93% in 2007 of total Thai inbound tourism or some 280.000 tourists.

However I don't understand the interest for Russian tourists versus those from America (623.000), Australia (638.000) or UK (746.000).

What's wrong with Russians; don't they have a right to go on holiday to Thailand ?

LaoPo

[jdinasia]

LaoPo if you visit Thailand it will help the numbers!

[lannarebirth]

2008 THAILAND INBOUND tourism statistics

Is tourism declining ?

TAT doesn't supply the tourist numbers anymore. It is now in the hands of the Office of Tourism Development* see below.

However, reading those statistics has become a pain and much more difficult to 'read' than in the period with TAT.

For 2008 they have divided the INBOUND tourists into 2 categories:

1. INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS TO THAILAND BY NATIONALITY - all airports, borders, ships, trains etc.

2. INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS TO THAILAND BY NATIONALITY AT SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT

There is also detailed -but not up to date- data for the various regions in Thailand, called: Guest Arrivals at Accommodation Establishments IN THAILAND

And there is some info about numbers to tourist attractions, whatever/where ever they are.

All in all complicated to read, especially if you look at their website...

Anyway, for the JAN-MARCH numbers by Nationality they still supplied the percentages versus 2007.

AFTER that period they stopped supplying the numbers versus 2007......one could wonder WHY ?

The numbers for 2007 are still available (old TAT numbers) but have to be checked page-by-page....be my guest

2008 International Tourist Arrivals to Thailand by NATIONALITY: (all airports, borders, ships, trains etc.)

JAN-MARCH by Nationality: 4.206.231 up 9.79% versus 2007 with 3.831.089

APRIL-JUNE by Nationality : 3.460.915

JULY-SEPT by Nationality: not available yet

2008 International Tourist Arrivals to Thailand by Nationality at SUVARNABHUMI:

JAN-MARCH: 3.099.662

APRIL-JUNE: 2.523.457

JULY-SEPT.: 2.147.631

All info from:

* http://www.tourism.go.th/index.php?option=...0&Itemid=25

Here you can find all statistics from 1997 to 2007 and for 2008 in part.

Note:

It is very difficult to read and compare the 3-months/quarterly periods in 2008 versus 2007 because those periods for 2007 are not available; just the full-year-numbers unless someone wants to look them up in the old TAT website, which is still there to my best of knowledge.

Also: we should not forget that in the total numbers for 2008 but also for previous years there are quite high numbers of so-called tourists from neighboring countries like Malaysia, Burma, Laos, Cambodia. Malaysia alone was 'good' for 1,5 Million 'tourists' in 2007.

The question is: are they real tourists or (part) guest workers looking for -illegal or not- jobs ?

It is not to be neglected that in the tourist statistics are high numbers of repeat tourists, visiting neighboring countries , returning to Thailand as well as VISA-border runners.

Those numbers are impossible to 'read' as they are officially not known but certainly included in the total INBOUND tourism numbers.

LaoPo

As Winston Churchill was supposed to have said,"There are 3 types of lies; lies, dammed lies, and statistics."

You can make statistics read just about any way you want them to, if you just manipulate the figures properly.

I'm sure, however, that this "high season" will be a low tourist period, simply because many people are going to take any holiday they have closer to home. The money they would spend to take a exotic Asian vacation, is going for other things this year.

It is all down to the "temporary economic downturn" as the optomists like to call it. Anyone who has a vacation planned will take it closer to home than flying halfway across the world this year.

There are lots of great Churchill quotes, but that's not one of them. generally attributed to Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), but it may have been Benjamin Disraeli instead.

[mahtin]

Koos, PAD blocking a few airports didn't affect tourism

nearly as much as Oil and plane fare prices.

That was a minor blip in the scale of things.

The current fund crisis is the main reason but what PAD has done does create a bad image that people will change their destination for their next trip. Many people who are in Thailand recently have paid for their trip well in advance. Otherwise they don't come.

Oil price has gone down.

People will still travel to the South Thailand, knowing very few tourists are there and they have the beaches to their own.

Last Saturday in Din Daeng I was in a taxi when two pickups crowded with PAD people came the other way, noisily haranguing the onlookers, who seemed less than impressed. And I also saw a girl in a PAD shirt getting off a riverboat. No problems there.

My trip was booked well in advance, but we would have come anyway for the wife's family. We visited Lamai in Samui as every year, and tourists were less in evidence.

People tend to avoid the South out of self-preservation, is my impression, or are you counting Phuket etc. as South?

[bruceboy]

2009 should be interesting.

[LaoPo]

Last Saturday in Din Daeng I was in a taxi when two pickups crowded with PAD people came the other way, noisily haranguing the onlookers, who seemed less than impressed. And I also saw a girl in a PAD shirt getting off a riverboat. No problems there.

My trip was booked well in advance, but we would have come anyway for the wife's family. We visited Lamai in Samui as every year, and tourists were less in evidence.

People tend to avoid the South out of self-preservation, is my impression, or are you counting Phuket etc. as South?

Are you talking local tourists or expats living in Thailand ?

Most foreign tourists have very little awareness or knowledge about the internal Thai political situation(s) and are thus not very much influenced by those.

It will certainly not withhold them by booking to Thailand or not, unless something very dramatic would happen in, for instance, Phuket, Bangkok, Pattaya or Samui, to name a few.

There are lots of other important factors withholding them of booking holidays.

The financial- and now regular economy crisis for instance combined with expensive airfares and such.

It's the same thing with most European tourists; they have no clue about the political situation in Spain or unrest (and sometimes bombs) in the autonomous community of the Basque country in Northern Spain and it will not influence their decision to go to Spain for holidays, or not.

LaoPo

[Rinrada]

2009 should be interesting.

Will probably visit 2-3 times in 2009 with at least 3-4 friends on each occasion but not with Thai Airways ...Etti is half price.

You gotta win the lottery to support their fuel surcharge rip-offs.........less that 50 bucks a barrel...chaps...innit.

Hotel wise the Honey is still 700 a night so thats Ok for our Cowboy adventurers but otherwise will fill the fridges with beer Chang and eat out at the 69 Bt."savoys"

Heard that the BMA buses have dropped their fares back to 6 bt so someones at least trying......should be good..

Right wheres the "appy hours in March-July and Oct...?

[on-on]

On another note, the data seems to confirm the impression that the Russian are, in fact, coming in greater numbers.

The increase in numbers of Russians is quite high (+46% in 2007 versus 2006) but the overall percentage is still low.

1,93% in 2007 of total Thai inbound tourism or some 280.000 tourists.

However I don't understand the interest for Russian tourists versus those from America (623.000), Australia (638.000) or UK (746.000).

What's wrong with Russians; don't they have a right to go on holiday to Thailand ?

LaoPo

Fascination may not have the proper connotation - in fact it doesn't at all.

In any case, anyone who has visited various tourist locales, particularly beaches, has noticed the cyrillic scribbled on the menus and such and the increase in Russians. That's not a value judgement, just a statement of fact, so the change itself and the changes it has caused in the tourist ecology are interesting just on their face. If I all of a sudden saw Gaelic menus and got caught in lines of hundreds of pushing and shoving Irish tourists at Suvarnabhumi immigration when I fly around regularly (etc, etc) then I'd note that development as well and find reinforcement of it interesting. The subject question of interest is different, though, and there's no denying that the various tourist classes of Russians each have their own particular character that make them easy to focus on - at least anecdotally speaking.

As for "rights" all I can say is "straw man."

Edited November 16, 2008 by on-on

[ourmanflint]

The world outside Thailand...

Friday, 31 October 2008

The impact of recent political unrest in Bangkok is now being felt by Thai hoteliers. Andrew Wood, general manager of the Chaophya Park Hotel and Resort, said up to August the hotel was on budget and occupancy was averaging 79 per cent. Two months later the picture had dramatically changed. September occupancy dropped to 56 per cent and October has closed with 55 per cent occupancy with year end figures expected to be down around 18 per cent on forecast budget.

Thailand's high season has just begun and runs to February, but the signs for one of South-east Asia's top tourism destinations are worrying.

Rising fuel costs pushed international arrivals at Bangkok's main airport down to about 600,000 in August - a 33 per cent drop from a year earlier after a jump of 5.5 per cent in July, Ministry of Tourism figures show.

In September, arrivals were down 21 per cent, and industry experts say numbers are expected to remain low as the global credit crunch prompts consumers worried about their jobs and mortgages to stay at home.

'We will probably have a very bad high season,' said Mr Oliver Martin of industry body the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

BANGKOK -(Dow Jones)- Thailand's tourism revenue this year may fall short of the THB600 billion ($17.1 billion) target due mainly to the global financial crisis and problems on the domestic front, an executive at Tourism Authority of Thailand said Wednesday.

The domestic risk factors that are hampering the country from achieving the target include political tension, a bird flu outbreak, a territorial dispute with Cambodia and prolonged violence in the Thai southern province, said Phanom Kaributra, TAT's executive director.

Tourist arrivals at the start of the current peak season, which normally begins from October to March, have declined substantially, he added.

Tourism accounts for about 6% of the Thai economy and is a major foreign exchange earner.

In 2007, Thailand generated a total of THB506.44 billion ($14.5 billion) in tourism revenue.

My advice...

Eat little, spend little... wait and wait until things get better.

[Koo82]

Most foreign tourists have very little awareness or knowledge about the internal Thai political situation(s) and are thus not very much influenced by those.

There are lots of other important factors withholding them of booking holidays.

The financial- and now regular economy crisis for instance combined with expensive airfares and such.

LaoPo

True that the current crisis is the main reason but tourists follow very closely what happens in Thai politics.

After the State of Emergency during Khun Samak's time, many changed their destinations to countries nearby Thailand. After a while, they know the PAD wouldn't harm tourists, they set their mind. But they are still watching bombs in this place that place and which airport being blocked. They may not know the details but they sure don't want to holiday in a country with unrest politics.

When making decision for next year, they'll consider all of these.

[LaoPo]

Most foreign tourists have very little awareness or knowledge about the internal Thai political situation(s) and are thus not very much influenced by those.

There are lots of other important factors withholding them of booking holidays.

The financial- and now regular economy crisis for instance combined with expensive airfares and such.

LaoPo

True that the current crisis is the main reason but tourists follow very closely what happens in Thai politics.

After the State of Emergency during Khun Samak's time, many changed their destinations to countries nearby Thailand. After a while, they know the PAD wouldn't harm tourists, they set their mind. But they are still watching bombs in this place that place and which airport being blocked. They may not know the details but they sure don't want to holiday in a country with unrest politics.

When making decision for next year, they'll consider all of these.

Maybe the Japanese, HK, Singapore, Korean tourist etc. but not the Western tourist.

Thai politics is not an important issue in most European countries. Most don't even care. I assume the same for North America. Because OZ and NZ is closer they wll probably monitor more but the strong Baht and declining OZ/NZ dollar is of a much greater concern.

If you would go to Suvarnabhumi and ask a thousand tourist from Europe they would gasp at you and ask what the heck you're talking about. They want only one thing, relax and go to the beach (most of them) and NO, unless VERY serious trouble and uproar would occur in the streets of Bangkok, the Thai political situation would not stop them from booking their holidays.

They are more concerned now about the economical situation and their own finances and mortgages.

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

International Tourist Arrivals declining:

In October 2008 inbound tourism via Suvarnabhumi: -11.12% versus 2007, or MINUS some 94,000 tourists.

Other numbers:

Total East Asia:-24,15%

of which Asean: -9,37%

China: -43,43%

Hong Kong -34,05%

Japan: -20,04%

Korea: -33,78%

Taiwan: -22,28%

Europe: -3,80%

The Americas: -8,87%

South Asia: -2,70%

Oceania: -0,86%

Middle East: +48,10%

Africa: +0,97%

GRAND TOTAL:

2007: 843,852

2008: 749,976

= Minus: 93,876 tourists via Suvarnabhumi in October 2008; almost 91,000 were from East Asia.

The decline has started, beginning in East Asia.

Europe and The Americas will follow in the coming period

Source: Immigration Bureau, Royal Thai Police.

Tourist arrivals are excluded Overseas Thai.

Office of Tourism Development.

LaoPo

[DavidOxon]

Wife spoke to a friend that works for Bangkok Airways . . .

they are carrying 700 passengers a day to Samui . . . normal

for this time of year is 3000 a day . . . definitely down!

David

[WISteve]

It's always pretty quiet when I fly in and out of Swampy from the US (arrival is around midnight and departures are 6-7 am) but I've been doing this since September 2006 when it opened and November was the fifth time this year. March, May, July, September & November for this year. My Northwest flights in November were 90+% full inbound and outbound but that has more to do with fewer flights than more tourists. Aisle Six at Swampy was deserted other than the check-in at NWA. I was through immigration in two minutes. Sometimes I think it's easier to tell trends when a business is slower like at night then during it's busiest times during the day. Seat of the pants impression I got is that the traffic through Swampy is down considerably from just this spring.

At the end of November it should be busy around the airport but it is not. I don't wish ill for my thai friends but the combination of everything worldwide is going to effect them just as it will many others in the world.

~WISteve

[jreidy]

My (ex-wife's!) hotel at Phuket is full tonight, as it was last night. The current room-rate of 2,500 baht per night doesn't seem to put anyone off. As for peak season around Xmas, we are already fully booked on many of those days.

I do believe that tourist numbers are down, and maybe we are lucky with our 'niche' market by the airport. In Patong, it's a buyers' market as many hotels are competing and cutting their prices.

BTW, if you think our room-rate is high, it is the cheapest in this locality! Other hotels nearby are charging 3,600 baht per night up to 12,000 baht per night - and still getting customers.

Simon

Simon...I'm confused.

I've been reading over some of your past post. You write about needing a job. Trying to get Teaching English jobs, another recent post you are talking about going back to the UK to work for a while and save up some money and come back!!

But then you also write about "My hotel" and "allways full".

Is it your hotel or not?

Did you buy the hotel in your ex wifes name?

Do you have a partnership arrangement?

Do you recieve income?

Or have you been Rodgered like so many other Farangs that come to Thailand?

Have you done your money?

Whats the story dude?

Well spotted livinginexile,

Simon is obviously full of the old Bull, if he has any involvement in the hospitality industry, it's probably a fleapit trying to charge 250bht a night. Full when the room he's not in is taken by another dreamer.

He also seems to stagger around with his eyes closed..........full hotels? Balls!!!

[LaoPo]

Well spotted livinginexile,

Simon is obviously full of the old Bull, if he has any involvement in the hospitality industry, it's probably a fleapit trying to charge 250bht a night. Full when the room he's not in is taken by another dreamer.

He also seems to stagger around with his eyes closed..........full hotels? Balls!!!

Your answer is VERY impolite and you really don't know where you're talking about.

Simon43 is not only one of the members of the first hour of Thaivisa, he is also one of the most respected, honest, kindest but also modest men on this website.

He is an intelligent man who worked very hard to establish his modest hotel, close to the airport on Phuket. if you would only click on his name and look at his profile you would find his website but also that he is a highly educated man.

I have the greatest respect for him, more respect than you possibly are able to deserve -ever- on this forum.

LaoPo

[duchovny]

But what about the people that may have made Thailand their only destination for their

holiday in the old days but who now stay one or two days and then go on to

Cambodia , Nepal, Vietnam,Laos, Burma etc. and spend the bulk of their time

in those countries. This could give a very distorted picture of the continued success

or otherwise of Thailand as a leading destination because they don't spend much money here?

That does seem to be the case with surrounding countries like Laos and Cambodia showing good increases in Tourism numbers and revenues while at the same time Thailand is dropping off.

This shouldn't be a surprise though. Thailand is doing it's best to shoot itself in the foot. Now you can't even get in or out of the main airport! These images of people storming the airport and closing it down will sit in potential tourists minds until at least the end of this so-called high season.

[Koo82]

Maybe the Japanese, HK, Singapore, Korean tourist etc. but not the Western tourist.

If you would go to Suvarnabhumi and ask a thousand tourist from Europe they would gasp at you and ask what the heck you're talking about. They want only one thing, relax and go to the beach (most of them) and NO, unless VERY serious trouble and uproar would occur in the streets of Bangkok, the Thai political situation would not stop them from booking their holidays.

They are more concerned now about the economical situation and their own finances and mortgages.

LaoPo

I don't think so. When you ask European tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport, what I have in mind is they don't speak English well.

I can't see why some certain nationalities will pay attention more than some other nationalities. No one wants to think of going to a country where the main airport is attacked by protesters, trains will stop or not no one knows, bombs in the capital in several places, death people on the street, etc.

At least they don't block the airports in the South now.

[LaoPo]

Maybe the Japanese, HK, Singapore, Korean tourist etc. but not the Western tourist.

If you would go to Suvarnabhumi and ask a thousand tourist from Europe they would gasp at you and ask what the heck you're talking about. They want only one thing, relax and go to the beach (most of them) and NO, unless VERY serious trouble and uproar would occur in the streets of Bangkok, the Thai political situation would not stop them from booking their holidays.

They are more concerned now about the economical situation and their own finances and mortgages.

LaoPo

I don't think so. When you ask European tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport, what I have in mind is they don't speak English well.

I can't see why some certain nationalities will pay attention more than some other nationalities. No one wants to think of going to a country where the main airport is attacked by protesters, trains will stop or not no one knows, bombs in the capital in several places, death people on the street, etc.

At least they don't block the airports in the South now.

1. What do you mean with ""I don't think so"" please be a bit more specific.

2. I don't know to what kind of European tourists you talked to but the vast majority of mainland Europe tourists do speak quite a bit of English. ....."well" is another matter.

3. Let me ask YOU a question..what do you know about any single European country and what's going on there ?

Keep in mind that countries like France and Spain have each more than 50, 60 million tourists a year !! The world doesn't stop at the Thai borders you know, with a mere REAL 8-9 million tourists, not the 14 million the TAT is claiming. The latter number includes a few million from the Asean countries (1,5 million Malaysians) and repeat visitors (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar during one "Thailand" stay) as well as many many visa border runners; each one of them is counted multiple times

NOTE:

Please pay attention WHEN I wrote my message -2008-11-23 18:42:19-....That was BEFORE the PAD blocked and occupied Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports; of course that news is front page news in every single country around the world and WILL affect Thai inbound tourism, sadly enough for the Thai population, working in the tourist industry.

LaoPo

Edited November 27, 2008 by LaoPo

[Koo82]

I base on the situation before the Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi were blocked.

1. I don't think only Asian tourists care about Thai politics and not Western tourists. Some Europeans seem to be familiar with bombs (in Spain and France as far as I know) but that doesn't mean they pay less or no attention than other nationalities to what is happening in Thailand after the Hat Yai and Phuket Airport were blocked earlier and the PAD still doesn't stop their protest.

2. "If you would go to Suvarnabhumi and ask a thousand tourist from Europe they would gasp at you and ask what the heck you're talking about"? Are they so "mei pen rai"? I don't think so.

3. I only know that economy in Europe is very dark in this crisis.

[LaoPo]

I base on the situation before the Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi were blocked.

1. I don't think only Asian tourists care about Thai politics and not Western tourists. Some Europeans seem to be familiar with bombs (in Spain and France as far as I know) but that doesn't mean they pay less or no attention than other nationalities to what is happening in Thailand after the Hat Yai and Phuket Airport were blocked earlier and the PAD still doesn't stop their protest.

2. "If you would go to Suvarnabhumi and ask a thousand tourist from Europe they would gasp at you and ask what the heck you're talking about"? Are they so "mei pen rai"? I don't think so.

3. I only know that economy in Europe is very dark in this crisis.

1. I would say that 90% of European tourist are totally ignorant about Thai politics or what's happening on Thai soil; of course the present airport blockades by PAD changed all that.

2. see #1

3. The dark economy is certainly there in Europe and the USA, Australia and NZ, Japan, China, India........and will walk all the way to Thailand; you better buckle up, save money and prepare for VERY bad times in LOS !!

If you or anybody else thinks that Thailand is going to escape the world wide economical crisis...you're wrong; on top of that Thailand is creating it's own economical and financial crisis withthe present political situation.

The canceled 1,200 German tourists will NOT spend Baht 70 million in Thailand and that's just a small beginning !

Prepare for the worst

LaoPo

[Koo82]

If you or anybody else thinks that Thailand is going to escape the world wide economical crisis...you're wrong; on top of that Thailand is creating it's own economical and financial crisis withthe present political situation.

I never think Thailand is safe from this crisis. PAD is making it worse before and after they block 2 airports in BKK.