Thailand Tourism Recovery Seen Ahead Of Schedule

[george]

Thailand tourism recovery seen ahead of schedule

BANGKOK: -- The private sector is increasingly relieved by signs of a recovery in tourism and the high probability of over 12.7 million foreign tourists this year, according to the Thai Travel Agents Association.

"Foreign tourists are returning - and we believe that by the third and fourth quarters the situation will get much better - and the number of foreign tourists is highly likely to exceed 12.7 million and will probably reach 14 million," said Anake Srishevachart, chief adviser to the association.

Mr Anake said foreign tourists - especially from China and Japan - were expected to start travelling to Thailand again by April and May this year after the Thai government has completed its trade missions and roadshows in the two countries later this month.

According to the Thai Travel Agents Association, the number of foreign tourist arrivals last year was 12.7 million, a significant drop from 14.4 million in 2007.

About 54% came from East Asia and around 28% from Europe, while the rest came from the United States, South America, the Middle East and Africa.

The association's positive projection came despite the number of foreign tourist arrivals for the first two months plunging by 38.5% year-on-year to 292,000.

"It is a must, therefore, for the government to beef up public relations activities, particularly in those two markets," said Mr Anake.

He also urged the government to speed up marketing campaigns among travellers from Asean and those who participate in meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (Mice) events.

Sakkarin Chorsawai, director of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), also suggested that the government promote more seminars upcountry to help smaller properties.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-03-13

[jumnien]

I am afraid they are right. The traffic here in Hua Hin is worse than ever!

[cmsally]

How on earth do they deduce that. It says in the article (and PATA also produced statistics) that tourist numbers Jan-Feb dropped 38%

So where does this supposed recovery come from?

Or is it encapsulated in that phrase "highly likely to exceed".

Nowhere does it give statistics for advance bookings or concrete numbers to prove this supposed recovery.

[misterman21]

How on earth do they deduce that. It says in the article (and PATA also produced statistics) that tourist numbers Jan-Feb dropped 38%

So where does this supposed recovery come from?

Or is it encapsulated in that phrase "highly likely to exceed".

Nowhere does it give statistics for advance bookings or concrete numbers to prove this supposed recovery.

TAT does not, and never has dealt in reality. They - i assume - get their views from comic mags distributed prior to meetings!

Edited March 13, 2009 by misterman21

[catmac]

As cmsally says, just wishful thinking and total hogwash! Face the facts - 38% DOWN so far this year sure don't sound like an increase to me.

Do these Thai bigwigs live in the real world or cloud-cuckoo land? China is facing such an economic downturn that their own government is fearful of "civil unrest" so bad that it could topple the Communist Party's rule; Japan's economy is on the verge of collapse. Yet in some magical way these 2 countries are going to save Thailand's tourist industry!

Just another example of the head in the sand syndrome, that makes Thais believe that they are somehow immune to the world-wide economic chaos that is hurting everyone else.

[Seneque]

Thailand tourism recovery seen ahead of schedule ...

then 2008, 1.7M less than 2007 ...

then first 2 months 2009 a drop of 38.5% compare to same months in 2008

I't quite amusing to see how when you just read the title of the song, it does not sound the same as when you hear it.

I wish them the best for 3rd and 4th quarter but the whole world will have to recover fast to please Mr. Anake.

[JimsKnight]

I am afraid they are right. The traffic here in Hua Hin is worse than ever!

In HH it is busy, but not elsewhere I have noticed

[TAWP]

They might see the recovery against the expected drop [by some doomsayer in this forum too] after the airport-deal as an overly positive sign against the downtrend that is Now coming into effect due to the falling economy. People usually book their long-haul travels 6month in advance, so...

[jumnien]

I am afraid they are right. The traffic here in Hua Hin is worse than ever!

In HH it is busy, but not elsewhere I have noticed

The traffic seems to be growing exponentially; when will we get a slow down? Is there any hope?

[stuandchris]

Blimey was in Hua Hin the other day and it resembled a ghost town!

[tmwke]

Shortley the Condominiums will double in price, especialy the ones over 20 million Baht !

[goonerthegooner]

Looks good and sounds good. There ain't no way there has been that many tourists here,let alone the increase,again it's propaganda for the public too see.

How come every other country that neighbours Thailand is in a bad recession,and Thailand is not??.

[animatic]

Or it's as simple as bucking the depression trend with good news of any sort,

to boost perceived confidence. A psycological lift to the populace, is not a missplaced effort.

ALL money is an exercise in confidence in the system, most recently gravely shaken.

Let them talk it's good for the economy in the long run.

[HankChinasky]

I don't know what the numbers and statistics are, but in my case, I've never had such a busy month of march, February was great as well.

[henryalleman]

Its a fantasy story

this year alone Boeing and Airbus have more cancellations of orders than new orders. In my country Brussels airport had in Februari 25% less traffic.

Japan, China and Korea are in a reccesion, so is Europe and the USA.

In my country the people put 5.6 billion Euro in there save accounts in January and February, They just don't spend money anymore because they are afraid of the future.

There is only an increase of pensioners moving to Thailand, in my home town 5 families are moving next month, all retirees who planned it for many years.

[Oberkommando]

I don't know what the numbers and statistics are

"first 2 months 2009 a drop of 38.5% compare to same months in 2008"

[jumnien]

Blimey was in Hua Hin the other day and it resembled a ghost town!

Try driving thru town in the afternoon without being held up for 2 and 3 light changes.

[mhatami]

I am afraid they are right. The traffic here in Hua Hin is worse than ever!

I guess they may be right about tourists coming back, but they neglect to say that these tourists spend a lot less this year than last year

[jumnien]

I am afraid they are right. The traffic here in Hua Hin is worse than ever!

I guess they may be right about tourists coming back, but they neglect to say that these tourists spend a lot less this year than last year

It doesn't do me any good that they spend less, they still clog the roads! And it doesn't look like the situation is going to get any better.

[Denim]

Let them talk it's good for the economy in the long run.

Yes, well at least talk is cheap.

I guess they figure that if you spin it enough it might crystalise into some kind of reality regardless of how it is in the real world.

[animatic]

Its a fantasy story

this year alone Boeing and Airbus have more cancellations of orders than new orders. In my country Brussels airport had in Februari 25% less traffic.

Japan, China and Korea are in a reccesion, so is Europe and the USA.

In my country the people put 5.6 billion Euro in there save accounts in January and February,

They just don't spend money anymore because they are afraid of the future.

There is only an increase of pensioners moving to Thailand, in my home town 5 families are moving next month, all retirees who planned it for many years.

That goes right ot the heart of what I was saying.

Talking up 'hopeful' recovery can often aid a REAL recovery in materializing.

[h90]

I am afraid they are right. The traffic here in Hua Hin is worse than ever!

In HH it is busy, but not elsewhere I have noticed

I was recently in Ranong: full

Koh Phayam almost full

Koh Hai: almost full

Pattaya North...almost full my wife had to call 3 different hotels to be able to book 2 rooms, but got told other areas of Pat aren't that full.

I think:

a) Tourist move from some places.....Phuket is simply to much of a rip off and decreasing water quality so they go to smaller islands....

if some areas increase the amount of beds per 10 % per year every year and not everything is full they call it less tourists.

[Oberkommando]

Maleewan Oranuch, who works at a five-star hotel, is also worried. In his view Thailand’s “political strife has had major consequences for the hotel industry. We have been asked to work two days a week without pay.” Still he feels he is among the lucky ones because if the “hotel stays afloat, so do we. I hope things get better quickly.”

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&...eo=5&size=A

THAILAND. King Power International Group (Thailand) achieved Bt22 billion (US$611 million) in 2008 sales and is forecasting a flat year for revenues in 2009 amid the downturn in global and regional travel. That's according to a report in today’s Bangkok Post, which quoted Managing Director Sombat Dechapanichkul.

Against this backdrop the company is hosting its first travel trade fair in Bangkok, which aims to attract its loyalty club members to visit some of the world's great tourism destinations (see below).

According to Dechapanichkul, the company's forecast of Bt22 billion in 2009 revenue would be split between airport duty free (Bt13 billion), King Power’s downtown complex (Bt3 billion), souvenir sales (Bt3 billion) and hotel and other services (Bt3 billion). He said that revenues would be down by -20% in Q1, because of lower tourist arrivals.

http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?c...mp;doc_id=20097

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) had earlier forecast that around 14.5 million international visitors would visit Thailand in 2009; however, the Bank of Thailand has estimated foreign visitor arrivals to decline by 8.8% in 2009, from the 12.8 million arrivals in 2008.

http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_nshw.php?mwi=5613

[eastlight]

As cmsally says, just wishful thinking and total hogwash! Face the facts - 38% DOWN so far this year sure don't sound like an increase to me.

Do these Thai bigwigs live in the real world or cloud-cuckoo land? China is facing such an economic downturn that their own government is fearful of "civil unrest" so bad that it could topple the Communist Party's rule; Japan's economy is on the verge of collapse. Yet in some magical way these 2 countries are going to save Thailand's tourist industry!

Just another example of the head in the sand syndrome, that makes Thais believe that they are somehow immune to the world-wide economic chaos that is hurting everyone else.

Following on from this post, is it not realised that it is not the numbers of tourists that actually matter but what they spend when they actually get here! Tourists from this region (Japan, Korea, Chinea etc.) as we all know love to travel on an organised tour, never venture out to enjoy the local culture and are normally only here for a few days.

The free spenders who should be attracted are from Europe / USA etc and of course these are just the people who have been discouraged from coming here e.g. clampdown on entertainment.

[Priceless]

As cmsally says, just wishful thinking and total hogwash! Face the facts - 38% DOWN so far this year sure don't sound like an increase to me.

Do these Thai bigwigs live in the real world or cloud-cuckoo land? China is facing such an economic downturn that their own government is fearful of "civil unrest" so bad that it could topple the Communist Party's rule; Japan's economy is on the verge of collapse. Yet in some magical way these 2 countries are going to save Thailand's tourist industry!

Just another example of the head in the sand syndrome, that makes Thais believe that they are somehow immune to the world-wide economic chaos that is hurting everyone else.

Following on from this post, is it not realised that it is not the numbers of tourists that actually matter but what they spend when they actually get here! Tourists from this region (Japan, Korea, Chinea etc.) as we all know love to travel on an organised tour, never venture out to enjoy the local culture and are normally only here for a few days.

The free spenders who should be attracted are from Europe / USA etc and of course these are just the people who have been discouraged from coming here e.g. clampdown on entertainment.

How do "we all know" this? I had a quick look at the statistics for the last "normal year" (2007) and the following percentages of the three nationalities mentioned arrived on "Non-Group" arrangements (total number of arrivals in brackets):

Chinese (1,003K): 43%

South Koreans (1,076K): 28%

Japanese (1,249K): 60%

Personally, I don't think whether somebody arrives with a group or individually determines how much they spend here. Some groups stay at five star hotels and spend small fortunes on golf, shopping and entertainment. Some individuals (though probably not that many of the aforementioned nationalities) are backpackers living as cheaply as can be imagined.

/ Priceless

[ArnoJaco]

Shortley the Condominiums will double in price, especialy the ones over 20 million Baht !

This might be off topic but can you please tell me why you draw that conclusion?

Thank you.

AJ.

[dasy]

Thailand tourism recovery seen ahead of schedule

BANGKOK: -- The private sector is increasingly relieved by signs of a recovery in tourism and the high probability of over 12.7 million foreign tourists this year, according to the Thai Travel Agents Association.

"Foreign tourists are returning - and we believe that by the third and fourth quarters the situation will get much better - and the number of foreign tourists is highly likely to exceed 12.7 million and will probably reach 14 million," said Anake Srishevachart, chief adviser to the association.

Mr Anake said foreign tourists - especially from China and Japan - were expected to start travelling to Thailand again by April and May this year after the Thai government has completed its trade missions and roadshows in the two countries later this month.

According to the Thai Travel Agents Association, the number of foreign tourist arrivals last year was 12.7 million, a significant drop from 14.4 million in 2007.

About 54% came from East Asia and around 28% from Europe, while the rest came from the United States, South America, the Middle East and Africa.

The association's positive projection came despite the number of foreign tourist arrivals for the first two months plunging by 38.5% year-on-year to 292,000.

"It is a must, therefore, for the government to beef up public relations activities, particularly in those two markets," said Mr Anake.

He also urged the government to speed up marketing campaigns among travellers from Asean and those who participate in meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (Mice) events.

Sakkarin Chorsawai, director of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), also suggested that the government promote more seminars upcountry to help smaller properties.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-03-13

Hoping is dreaming with your eyes open!! On the other hand people with hope perform better, laugh more and worry less... look at how Obama gives hope at the moment.

David

[tmwke]

Shortley the Condominiums will double in price, especialy the ones over 20 million Baht !

This might be off topic but can you please tell me why you draw that conclusion?

Thank you.

AJ.

It was a sarcastic remark ! People who dont spend there life on Thai visa and are actually out and about in Thailand know tha truth ie Many lay offs quiter roads.and the general feeling of despondancy amongst the Thai populace