Chiang Mai Pleads For Help As Tourist 'High Season' Seem Very Slow

[george]

Chiang Mai pleads for help as tourist 'high season' seem very slow

By Suchat Sritama

The Nation

Published on October 6, 2010

Chiang Mai tourism associations yesterday urged the government to help them by promoting the North overseas, as new bookings seem very slow for the high season.

"Hotels and tour operators in Chiang Mai have received advance reservations of only 3040 per cent. We should have a higher number, at least 50 per cent," said Songvit Ittipattanakul, advisory chairman of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association.

Forward bookings from foreign markets specifically going to Chiang Mai until early next year are lower than the same time last year, he said.

Tourism in Chiang Mai has plum�meted by 50 per cent since the polit�ical turmoil in April, and business in the near future will not improve if there is no help or marketing efforts from the government, he said.

Travellers from the Americas and Europe have put their plans for Northern Thailand on hold for fear of political instability, while their economies have also not improved much, he said.

However, it is hoped that Australians and Asians - particu�larly from Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan as well as local people - will take vacations to Chiang Mai in December to celebrate Christmas and New Year, he said.

"Associations in Chiang Mai are asking for help from agencies like the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Tourism Ministry to highlight Chiang Mai and encourage more foreign tourists to come," he sai.

Sarawut Saetiao, president of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association, said the tourism business in Chiang Mai was still quiet even though the city was recently ranked by Travel and Leisure magazine as the world's secondbest city.

Surapol Sritrakul, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), said his group would soon meet with other tourism associations in Chiang Mai to help bring holidaymakers into the region.

"Among the key tourist attrac�tions throughout the country, Chiang Mai is reportedly the lowest in new bookings," he said.

According to ATTA, Russians and Western Europeans are heading for Pattaya thanks to the resort city's mayor, who led operators to an inter�national tourism trade fair a year ago.

However, ATTA found that some hotels in Pattaya give long rentals to Russian investors who then offer rooms to Russian tourists at low prices. ATTA is watching the move, as it could make trouble for the industry in the long term.

Paiboon Upatising, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, said international arrivals in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi had increased by 30 per cent from January to August.

"Phuket will enjoy huge hordes of tourists this high season because some airlines have added Phuket as a regional hub," he said.

The island alone this year is expected to welcome 6.5 million tourists, up from 6.0 million last year.

New bookings for Phuket have already reached 80-90 per cent. The key markets are China, South Korea and India.

Phuket International Airport is being expanded so it can accommodate up to 12.5 million passengers, against 6.5 million this year. Some hotel chains are also raising their profile in Phuket, such as Holiday Inn Express and Four Seasons.

Hotel investors from Singapore, Russia, India and China are looking for opportunities to expand to Phuket and surrounding areas, Paiboon said.

-- The Nation 2010-10-06

[JimShortz]

3040% seems quite good to me - but surely there will be a lot of guests disappointed to find they have been double booked!

[mommysboy]

Must be some mistake!

TAT reckons things just keep getting better and better.

Check again and stop being boring. You think too much!

[greasemonkey]

If I can get a return flight for 250 odd quid I'll consider spending january in chiangmai. But I know its gonna be closer to £500.

The political turmoil doesnt really bother me, but the exchange rate does. Plus I know prices will be inflated in some places to make up for loss of trade.

I'm sure there are many like me who are starting to wonder if its affordable, or are looking at other countries, for better value for money.

[rubl]

Chiang Mai tourism associations yesterday urged the government to help them by promoting the North overseas, as new bookings seem very slow for the high season.

Honestly I have no idea at all how come

[Beetlejuice]

And what is in Chiang Mai for tourists if they visit there?

Limited and restrictive nightlife, duel pricing at many tourist destinations, few decent restaurants and hardly any tour price concessions.

The TAT and police will need to collaborate and rethink their nightlife and adult entertainment restriction policies, better deals for tourists, outlaw duel pricing and more positive promotions of tourist areas and places of interest.

It doesn’t require a genius to assess why the tourists are not coming to Chiang Mai.

[Xircal]

Phuket is going to look like a Butlins Holiday Camp before long.

[roamer]

I love CM. Then again I'm not Russian, Chinese or Indian. Many Europeans are moving on to other pastures. Not sure the hotel business in CM is going to be expanding anytime soon.

[FarmerJoe]

As usual, they predict record numbers everywhere this season and then next week wonder why no one is coming, but still say they are breaking records. They can start with Bangkok. When most people arrive at the airport they are hit by the many scams going on there and in the city and feel they are better off leaving and spending their money in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia etc...Much cheaper there, people are more friendly and they won't get taken at every corner. Probably better off going to Nigeria.

[Throatwobbler]

And what is in Chiang Mai for tourists if they visit there?

Limited and restrictive nightlife, duel pricing at many tourist destinations, few decent restaurants and hardly any tour price concessions.

The TAT and police will need to collaborate and rethink their nightlife and adult entertainment restriction policies, better deals for tourists, outlaw duel pricing and more positive promotions of tourist areas and places of interest.

It doesn't require a genius to assess why the tourists are not coming to Chiang Mai.

Maybe some of the tourists don't come here for nightlight Did you think that most tourists here might not be Western

.

[Rinrada]

Will be out there next week for a jolli ...so...that should help

[Tokay]

The logical thing for CM to do then is jack up the rates so the tourists who do come get ripped off.

[johnsonspot]

I've always maintained that Thais don't really want tourists per se. They would rather "tourists" just fly into the airport, deposit all their money in a box, get back on the plane and go away. With all the scams and outright theft so prevalent in Thailand, I have seen very few places around the world that are more hostile to tourism.

So just fly to Chiang Mai and put your money in the tourist box and go home please. :jap:

[Jaydillon]

3040% seems quite good to me - but surely there will be a lot of guests disappointed to find they have been double booked!

Good point

[OzMick]

Perhaps CM should increase its attraction to tourists with a Red Shirt museum - Tussaud's type wax figures, film clips of the leaders speeches, dioramas of the party in BKK, a few AK-47s and M-79s........... A great attraction would be a clip of that guy getting shot in the foot, and Arisman climbing down the rope.

Given this mornings news, maybe a bomb-making school as well.

Edited October 6, 2010 by OzMick

[nikster]

Joke. Chiang Mai is sitting on a gold mine with its old city, but they are unable to even make proper sidewalks. Or provide trash bins.

Anyway lower arrivals much more likely to do with the exchange rate and flight prices than anything else. And the economy back home. The exchange rate and fuel prices conspire to make local tourism more interesting than flying to exotic countries for Europeans and Americans. So I guess in that sense they need to attract more local Asian tourists...would be better for CM anyway as these are less likely to only want to go to the beach like us farangs do...

[geriatrickid]

I've been a couple times. Nothing to do. Very boring. 1st time it was back in the 90's and I walked all oround the moat once. Boy, did I get to know the moat. My friend the moat. Went to the Malaria research facility in hopes of hooking up errr exhanging scientific theories with a beautiful grad student only to find that she had taken up with one of those smiling Dutch guys that drink alot beer but never seem to pee. What was she thinking I asked her, to which she replied, but you haven't seen him naked. No, I hadn't, nor was I planning to. Perhaps, this was a Swedish cultural thing where I was expected to just pop over and ask the man giant, say, I hear you look mighty fine naked, mind if I just have a look........

People seem more mature in CM though. By mature, I mean that the likelihood of getting mugged by an angry Kathoey seems remote and foreigners don't walk and puke at night as they do on Phuket. Seems to me that CM could be promoted as the calm place to rest a bit. I went to that big Buddha Temple up on the mountain. Banged those gong thingies wth my friend and asked myself, yup, there's a day wasted and a hired driver for nada. I could have gone to the beach. Oh wait, there isn't a beach. Shucks. Well there was always the night market that sold the same crud as in Phuket except the prices were maybe 10-20% less. My silk XL Boxers still shrunk to small. Oh yea, great shopping deals. I knew I scored a hit when my friend goes, oh you are too fat to fit into those, I'll take them, but they're mine I screamed, They are man undies and you're a girl. A girl with a, a, a, (luckily I didn't say big butt, because she had the evil Thai eye going). I surrendered some of the boxers in return for keeping my life. CM. It's the how the I lost my undies story of my life.

Edited October 6, 2010 by geriatrickid

[thedistillers]

And what is in Chiang Mai for tourists if they visit there?

Limited and restrictive nightlife, duel pricing at many tourist destinations, few decent restaurants and hardly any tour price concessions.

The TAT and police will need to collaborate and rethink their nightlife and adult entertainment restriction policies, better deals for tourists, outlaw duel pricing and more positive promotions of tourist areas and places of interest.

It doesn't require a genius to assess why the tourists are not coming to Chiang Mai.

It might not require a genius, but it certainly has nothing to do with the reasons you listed. Are you seriously telling me that people won't go to Chiang Mai because, gasp, they have to pay 100 baht to go to the zoo instead of 50? Since when are people going to CM for the nightlife and adult entertainment?

[thedistillers]

I've always maintained that Thais don't really want tourists per se. They would rather "tourists" just fly into the airport, deposit all their money in a box, get back on the plane and go away. With all the scams and outright theft so prevalent in Thailand, I have seen very few places around the world that are more hostile to tourism.

So just fly to Chiang Mai and put your money in the tourist box and go home please. :jap:

Thailand is one of the most tourist-friendly destination in the world, and it is no coincidence that Bangkok and Chiang Mai were voted the best cities in the world in a recent tourism survey. There are scams and theft in Asia, and much more in Vietnam and Cambodia.

[thedistillers]

I've been a couple times. Nothing to do. Very boring.

It's weird that a city that was recently listed the second best city in the world has nothing to do and is very boring.

The Saturday market, the Sunday market, the night bazaar, dozens and dozens of beautiful temples all over the city, Doi Suthep, a zoo, museums. Aerobics, ballooning, bird watching, bungy jumping, cinema, cooking classes, cricket, cycling, elephant riding, fishing, flying, golf, go-karts, hill-tribe treks, horse riding, karaoke, line-dancing, massage schools, pool, rafting, river boat trips, swimming, tennis, walking, water sports. Day trips around the city, festivals, etc. Considering the average tourist spend around 3 or 4 days in Chiang Mai, you're right, there's clearly nothing to do.

[jalansanitwong]

Why would anybody want to go all the way up there?? Ive been living here for 11 years and never occurred to me to go to CM. I presume the police and tourist scams are just as bad as BKK. Thailand is now an expensive holiday destination.Even Kaosan road,bkk is no longer a genuine backpacker district. Its full of renovated and expensive looking boutique bars and guest houses 800 b a night..HUH!!! Bali ,Fiji, and tahiti are looking better everyday. TAT will bury their head in the sand. maipen rai

[AussieKenny]

If they had problems before, how does Thailand rate after the "40 armed men in black" and "3 dead in BKK bombing".

My guess is that the season this year is going to be way, way down (with exception of Phuket where they can just fly in avoiding BKK)

Kenny

[gotlost]

I told you so.

[thedistillers]

Why would anybody want to go all the way up there?? Ive been living here for 11 years and never occurred to me to go to CM. I presume the police and tourist scams are just as bad as BKK. Thailand is now an expensive holiday destination.Even Kaosan road,bkk is no longer a genuine backpacker district. Its full of renovated and expensive looking boutique bars and guest houses 800 b a night..HUH!!! Bali ,Fiji, and tahiti are looking better everyday. TAT will bury their head in the sand. maipen rai

Because it is arguably the best city of Thailand if you don't care about beaches, at least for a short term visit. If it never occured to you to go there, you probably aren't interested much in travel.

You presume wrong. There are scams but then again what city doesn't have them, but certainly not as bad as Bangkok. Don't know about the police.

Chiang Mai is a cheap holiday destination. Cheaper than Bali, and certainly much cheaper than Fiji and Tahiti?

800 baht a night is "expensive"? Wow. Anyway there's plenty of decent 600 baht / night room in Bangkok, if you know where to look.

[philw]

Perhaps CM should increase its attraction to tourists with a Red Shirt museum - Tussaud's type wax figures, film clips of the leaders speeches, dioramas of the party in BKK, a few AK-47s and M-79s........... A great attraction would be a clip of that guy getting shot in the foot, and Arisman climbing down the rope.

Given this mornings news, maybe a bomb-making school as well.

Please give it a rest...

[OzMick]

Perhaps CM should increase its attraction to tourists with a Red Shirt museum - Tussaud's type wax figures, film clips of the leaders speeches, dioramas of the party in BKK, a few AK-47s and M-79s........... A great attraction would be a clip of that guy getting shot in the foot, and Arisman climbing down the rope.

Given this mornings news, maybe a bomb-making school as well.

Please give it a rest...

Why, Phil, don't you think it is a bit rich to complain about the lack of tourists when one (amongst many) of their own sons just blew himself to pieces while doing his best to scare tourists away?

[Pi Sek]

Perhaps CM should increase its attraction to tourists with a Red Shirt museum - Tussaud's type wax figures, film clips of the leaders speeches, dioramas of the party in BKK, a few AK-47s and M-79s........... A great attraction would be a clip of that guy getting shot in the foot, and Arisman climbing down the rope.

Given this mornings news, maybe a bomb-making school as well.

Please give it a rest...

Why, Phil, don't you think it is a bit rich to complain about the lack of tourists when one (amongst many) of their own sons just blew himself to pieces while doing his best to scare tourists away?

For some reason I don't have the green and red icons to say I approve/don't like a post.

But when they reappear, this one deserves a whole load of greenies!

[Pi Sek]

If they had problems before, how does Thailand rate after the "40 armed men in black" and "3 dead in BKK bombing".

My guess is that the season this year is going to be way, way down (with exception of Phuket where they can just fly in avoiding BKK)

Kenny

I moved to Phuket just over 3 months ago, from Samui. Business here is pretty good - see above. Lots of Aussies, very free-spending I might add. "A good quality of tourist".

In Chiang Mai, a lot of the tourism is from the Chinese market. Asian tourists, especially the Japanese, tend to stay away from political trouble. Maybe the novelty is not there for them as it appears with some Western people.

[Tropicalevo]

The article reads "Travellers from the Americas and Europe have put their plans for Northern Thailand on hold for fear of political instability".

Isn't CM predominantly red shirt country?

I could be wrong though - quite often am, but I seem to remember seeing a lot of news this year implying this.

[dudopode]

TAT should be sued IMO for all the lies and fake promises they gave to the thai nationals...

pathetic! all year long ... no problems at all tourism is UP 13%!!!

great minds doing great thinking! TAT should inform them to stop complaining since they did their job so well