Thai Tourism To Grow Only 5%

[webfact]

Thai Tourism to Grow Only 5%

Private tour businesses reported that the number of foreign travelers going through Suvannhabhumi Airport during the Songkran festival increased this year by 30%.

For the year though, they've identified several factors that have had a considerable influence on targeted travelers and have adjusted estimates down to 7.1 million tourists for the year.

Tourism Council of Thailand President Kongkrit Hirunkit revealed that the percentage of foreigners who traveled during the Songkran festival rose sharply, up 30% from usual.

Phuket Airport also added more than 200 flights, which reflects the high number of foreigners coming to celebrate during the festival.

Tourism businesses in Thailand are experiencing success similar to 2007.

The Tourism Council of Thailand estimates that the growth in the number of arriving foreign tourists will not meet earlier targets, however.

Despite there being several negative factors, the council is lowering the targeted tourism growth to between 5-8%, and expects 16.7-17.1 million foreign travelers.

This is less than growth estimates from the beginning of the year, which put the increase at 8-10%, or 17.1-17.3 million foreign travelers.

The three main negative factors are the effect of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, Middle East and north african countries' political issues and rising oil prices.

One positive tourism trend are expectations that business owners will raise service fees approximately 5-10%, which is in keeping with the higher production costs such labor, raw materials and energy costs.

This is the first price increase in three years.

The tourism business owners' confidence index in the first quarter is at 107, which reflects a stable confidence in business investment.

-- Tan Network 2011-04-19

[Soutpeel]

Thai ecomonics 101 raises its head....less growth...so lets increase the prices to make up for the short fall....

[londonthai]

5% grow is still a positive news, with many other countries facing fall in tourism, and with many other sections of economy declining.

I am surprised, that foreign travellers increased by 30% in bkk airport, as songkran is an exclusively thai holiday. Not that many foreigners would like to travel to thailand at the time, when roads are congested and almost everything is shut down - unless they are thai with foreign passports or they are travelling with thai spouses/friends to visit families.

those 200 flights to phuket were international or domestic ones? I would think that most of them were domestic, with tourists coming in and transit workers travelling out to home

Edited April 19, 2011 by londonthai

[Oberkommando]

Apparently we had record numbers last year according to government statistics.

I travelled the country extensively during March, April and May and there was hardly anyone here, mostly due to the red-shirt protests and the resultant travel warnings. So I simply don't believe the numbers.

Raising prices must be some sort of genius economic strategy amid such a strong Baht and inflation pushing up Thai prices beyond even Western levels, either that or its the usual short sighted greed that hinders proper planning here in Thailand.

[IAMSOBAD]

False numbers...cooked books...tricky wording all are used by Thai officials. It is VODOO MATH.

Just ask a Thai taxi or bar girl why they are so sad and they will give you the true story. "NO CUSTOMERS...NO FARANG"!

Causes in decline are not about Egypt ...Libya...Japan...Oil etc!

Causes are Red shirt Riots...strong Baht...jet ski scams...tuk tuk scams...Natural Deaths at same hotel and Thai politics ALL smeared throughout the internet.

We Can Read And Make Better Travel Plans!

Thailand you are going backwards in the modern world.

[lovelomsak]

These tourist figures just go to show how efficient the new airport is. I did some math I hope it is right my math is always rough but here are what I came up with.

If 17.1 million visitors arrive in one year that is approximately 1,425,000 a month. Thats a lot of people. On a 31 day month it is 45,967 people a day. Just under a half million pretty nice number.On a 24 hour day that is 1912 people a hour. That should keep some taxis busy. Now to process these people through immigration and customs it comes down to 32 people a minute. That breaks down to just over 1 person every 2 seconds.. I would like to say the airport in Bangkok is very efficient to be able to do this and think if tourism keeps growing at 5% then in 14.4 years all these figures will double.

And lets not forget these people will probably leave through the airport also. So everyday close to a 100,000people use the airport,in coming and going. so double the figures for immigration to deal with. I quess we are lucky to get through as quick as we do.

Edited April 19, 2011 by lovelomsak

[ginjag]

These tourist figures just go to show how efficient the new airport is. I did some math I hope it is right my math is always rough but here are what I came up with.

If 17.1 million visitors arrive in one year that is approximately 1,425,000 a month. Thats a lot of people. On a 31 day month it is 45,967 people a day. Just under a half million pretty nice number.On a 24 hour day that is 1912 people a hour. That should keep some taxis busy. Now to process these people through immigration and customs it comes down to 32 people a minute. That breaks down to just over 1 person every 2 seconds.. I would like to say the airport in Bangkok is very efficient to be able to do this and think if tourism keeps growing at 5% then in 14.4 years all these figures will double.

And lets not forget these people will probably leave through the airport also. So everyday close to a 100,000people use the airport,in coming and going. so double the figures for immigration to deal with. I quess we are lucky to get through as quick as we do.

I had to smile at the remark-The report said==Adjusted the ESTIMATES down.. :lol: 5555 Ha Ha Ha. these figures, TAT figures Swampy figures, and other seasonal adjusted estimated arrivals Ha Ha Ha===it's enough to drive anyone to drinking white whiskey. TAT is the master at this ====it's what we call -male cattle dung :bah:

[Misterwhisper]

"One positive tourism trend are expectations that business owners will raise service fees approximately 5-10%,..."

Why is this a positive trend? Given the strong Baht, it'll make prices even more expensive for tourists than they already are.

[Pib]

I am surprised, that foreign travellers increased by 30% in bkk airport, as songkran is an exclusively thai holiday. Not that many foreigners would like to travel to thailand at the time, when roads are congested and almost everything is shut down - unless they are thai with foreign passports or they are travelling with thai spouses/friends to visit families.

Maybe it was foreign travelers who live and work in Thailand "leaving" Thailand to return to their home country or "flying around" Thailand for approximately a week. The news article could have been clearer on "which way" the travelers were going and whether the flights originated in foreign countries. Maybe it was just foreigners living and working in Thailand going to a different places in Thailand for Songkran? Of course a foreigner leaving and re-entering Thailand for about a week later would be counted twice for traveling...and a private tour company could have arranged all that travel....that really helps to boost traveler statistics. A 30% increase of foreigners "coming to Thailand" just seems like a huge increase for a Thailand-specific holiday period. Statistics are great...you can make them support pretty much any agenda/scenario.

Edited April 19, 2011 by Pib

[londonthai]

These tourist figures just go to show how efficient the new airport is. I did some math I hope it is right my math is always rough but here are what I came up with.

maybe you should leave math to thai officials.

thailand has some 10 international airports (notably phuket, chang mai, hat yai, kho samui) on top of bkk, with bkk being domestic as well as international.

bkk has capacity some 50mln, that's why it's being developed with the new terminal, for domestic and budget airlines.

there is a lot of traffic through the land borders - cars, trains, even on foot for one day shopping. There are as well seaports, but mostly for cruise ships

[snuggzzz]

False numbers...cooked books...tricky wording all are used by Thai officials. It is VODOO MATH.

Just ask a Thai taxi or bar girl why they are so sad and they will give you the true story. "NO CUSTOMERS...NO FARANG"!

Causes in decline are not about Egypt ...Libya...Japan...Oil etc!

Causes are Red shirt Riots...strong Baht...jet ski scams...tuk tuk scams...Natural Deaths at same hotel and Thai politics ALL smeared throughout the internet.

We Can Read And Make Better Travel Plans!

Thailand you are going backwards in the modern world.

So right, plus when the lads go to Pattaya, (reasonably behaved ones) which are a good source of income the persecution of bar owners in Pattaya with many checks on staff and farang.at night with many BIB, only a few Thai's arrested.

[featography]

Thai ecomonics 101 raises its head....less growth...so lets increase the prices to make up for the short fall....

Thai economics 101 point fingers at other countries for the cause in low numbers/money in Thailand.

Like mom always said, "when you point a finger at someone, there are always 4 other fingers pointing back at you."

[exbelg]

"One positive tourism trend are expectations that business owners will raise service fees approximately 5-10%, which is in keeping with the higher production costs such labor, raw materials and energy costs. "

so, make it more expensive for the farang is going to increase the amount of people that think that Thailand is a good value for money ??????

who are we kidding

economics one on one

but as you could read before, most executives BUY they degree instead of attending classes or exams

[ableguy]

I woulg suggest four main negative factors # 4 rip off Thailand

[blackthorn2005]

'The three main negative factors are the effect of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, Middle East and north african countries' political issues and rising oil prices'

What about the jet skis tuk tuks an all the other scams going on in Phuket and elsewhere?

Get f*#kin serious.

[folium]

'The three main negative factors are the effect of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, Middle East and north african countries' political issues and rising oil prices'

What about the jet skis tuk tuks an all the other scams going on in Phuket and elsewhere?

Get f*#kin serious.

Tourism in Asia is booming, see clip from the BBC

My link

But Thailand seems to be missing out. Hence LOS been seen as a place for bargains (got to fill those hotels). Why would that be?

For the tourist Thailand today lacks a unique selling point that cannot be found better elsewhere in SE Asia (let alone the rest of Asia).

Culture: Ayutthaya/Sukothai/Phimai up against Borobodur, Angkor Wat, Pagan, Bali, Luang Prabang

Landscape: Phang Nga Bay/hills N & W of Chiang Mai up against Halong Bay, Chocolate Hills, Mulu caves.

Rainforest: scrap in khao Sok NP up against declining but still considerable areas Borneo & Sumatra

Wildlife: elephants in camps up against komodo dragons, elephants, orangs etc in the wild

trekking: northern LOS up against northern Burma, Sapa area

Volcanoes: none up against Bromo, Pinatubo, Merapi, Krakatau, Kelimutu etc

Diving/snorkelling: bleached Andaman, Koh Tao up against Komodo, Sipadan, Bunaken, Lembongan

City Shopping: Bangkok, CM up against Singapore, KL

Adventure tourism: ziplining and rafting around CM up against white water rafting Sabah, surfing Sumatra

I could go on and yes there are still some beaches that are amazing and not yet destroyed, but given the chance......No country has the monopoly on great options but tourists can and do pick and choose in the buffet style world of contemporary tourism and LOS struggles to put forward many tempting dishes (talking of food I've had great Thai food throughout SE Asia).

Trashed areas such as Phuket, Koh Samui, Pattaya, abound, and of course Thailand leads the world in sex tourism catering for all tastes, supplying all genders and ages, with children a speciality, by the hour, day or week.

Catering to low value Russian and Chinese package tours enjoying the delights of Phuket, Koh Samui, Phi Phi and Pattaya is a poor substitute for upscale, high value, high spending tourists who find better alternatives in the booming tourist trade that seems to be happening everywhere but LOS.

In a nutshell, Thailand great place to live, nothing special for tourists.

Edited April 20, 2011 by folium

[dunkin2012]

Cambodia, Laos,Viet and Myanmar are still fresh..............

they are the major competitors .....

Cambodia is superb.......... I love it...........

[Hans Brix]

Times are tough everywhere these days. It's a downer really.

One day normality will return

[folium]

Times are tough everywhere these days. It's a downer really.

One day normality will return

Just not true. Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines, Burma, are all seeing record numbers.

LOS just can't compete in terms of high quality/unique/exceptional experiences.

[geriatrickid]

I am surprised, that foreign travellers increased by 30% in bkk airport, as songkran is an exclusively thai holiday. Not that many foreigners would like to travel to thailand at the time, when roads are congested and almost everything is shut down - unless they are thai with foreign passports or they are travelling with thai spouses/friends to visit families.

Maybe it was foreign travelers who live and work in Thailand "leaving" Thailand to return to their home country or "flying around" Thailand for approximately a week. The news article could have been clearer on "which way" the travelers were going and whether the flights originated in foreign countries. Maybe it was just foreigners living and working in Thailand going to a different places in Thailand for Songkran? Of course a foreigner leaving and re-entering Thailand for about a week later would be counted twice for traveling...and a private tour company could have arranged all that travel....that really helps to boost traveler statistics. A 30% increase of foreigners "coming to Thailand" just seems like a huge increase for a Thailand-specific holiday period. Statistics are great...you can make them support pretty much any agenda/scenario.

You nailed it.

[FOODLOVER]

Yeah right, i don't believe these figures one bit. We own a business in Pattaya and for the last several years tourism has been dropping steadily.