Rules Suggested For Foreigners On Hotel Ownership

[george]

HOTEL LIBERALISATION: Tourism Council in call for govt protection

Rules suggested for foreigners on ownership, type and size of projects

BANGKOK: -- The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) has proposed measures to the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Negotiations Department to protect local hotel operators after the tourism industry is opened to foreigners in 2010.

Foreign investment in local hotels should be limited to 60 per cent, and allowed only for luxury properties costing more than Bt800 million per project, the TCT said.

Foreign hotel ownership should be allowed only for limited companies or limited partnerships, not individual investors.

TCT president Wichit Na Ranong said yesterday that these suggestions would help ensure that local operators would not be taken over by cashed-up foreign players.

The law currently holds foreign ownership in a Thai hotel company to 49 per cent, but once the service industry is liberalised under World Trade Organisation commitments in 2010, the limit could be scrapped entirely.

“That will trouble local operators because most of them are tiny and not financially strong. They have lower competitiveness,” Wichit said.

“More international hotel chains are also stepping into the country. And more overseas workers will move in,” said Prakit Chinamourphong, vice president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA).

Foreigners are among those investing in more than 30 hotels or 8,000–10,000 rooms to be opened in Bangkok over three years.

Prakit said the industry needs government support while the THA has been organising training courses for hospitality staff.

The TCT held a seminar in Bangkok yesterday. About 300 participants learned about the latest in commercial and marketing activities, socio-political impacts, and technology and consumer behaviour in the tourism industry.

Four guest speakers were Prakit; Auggaphol Brickshawana, executive director for policy and planning at the Tourism Authority of Thailand; Surasak Pholmafuang, MD of Zanda Convention and Fair Tour; and Vasing Kittikul, executive vice president for commercial affairs at Thai Airways.

The panellists called for the government and private operators to join hands in forging tourism strategies and promotional activities.

Human-resource skills also need upgrading to improve efficiency in tourism and service.

--The Nation 2005-11-03

[Butterfly]

Well, this is not going to be so simple with those WTO rules. Liberalisation is liberalisation, not some silly scam to limit foreign investment

[GuestHouse]

What Thais own hotels?

Answer -very rich ones.

So who is this proposed limmitation goting to protect?