Online ticket sales face slump

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TRAVEL
Online ticket sales face slump
Sasithorn Ongdee
The Nation


Sampan

Economic slowdown could hit bookings for H1 next year

BANGKOK: -- Consumer spending on travel is in danger of being impacted by the Thai recession, dampening the online air-ticketing business early next year, according to CheapTickets, an agent under Netherlands-based Travix.

Sampan Tosawang, country manager of Airtrade Travel (Thailand), a subsidiary of Travix, said last week that online air-ticketing sales in the rest of this year should not be hit much after key economic indicators were released, as trips have been planned with air tickets already booked. "But, we can see signs of a slowdown in online air-ticket sales in the last two months of the year, which is when consumers book for travel in next year's first half," he said.

The Thai economy has been in the spotlight for technically slipping into a recession after GDP in the second quarter contracted for the second month in a row. According to the Bank of Thailand's reports, GDP in the second quarter shrank by 0.3 per cent and in the first quarter by 1.7 per cent on quarter.

However, the online air-ticket market in Thailand should continue growing despite the glum economic sentiment. People still want to travel except when there is a disease epidemic, which hits travel directly.

"I don't believe travellers will cancel their trips...in the worst case, they'll probably cut their spending by half or change their destination, for example."

In Thailand, CheapTickets found that the top five airlines booked most in the first half of this year were Thai Airways International, China Eastern, Bangkok Airways, Hong Kong Airlines and China Southern. The top five destinations were Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, London and Guangzhou.

The local online market still has room for growth. The Internet accounted for 15 per cent of total air ticket sales, while in Singapore it was 30 per cent. The main problems were that credit lines do not cover ticket fares and consumers lack confidence in online payments.

The agent was satisfied with double sales a year ago.

"We're keeping our target at double sales growth this full year. If we miss the target in the five months left because of any unprecedented event, our sales growth is expected to drop to 1.7-1.8 times," he said.

With a variety of routes offered and a simple method for booking, CheapTickets claims it is a leading online air-ticketing agent in Thailand even though it has operated here only 20 months.

With the strong network of its parent Travix, the agent can also offer better conditions in airfares than its rivals.

Travix is a subsidiary of BCD Holding, the world's largest tourism firm with global sales of US$22.8 billion (Bt728 billion) last year.


-- The Nation 2013-08-26

[TheGhostWithin]

A sign that domestic price inflation is finally hitting international tourist arrivals into Thailand perhaps?

Time for those internal policies which stoke the flames of inflation and make the poor poorer to be re-looked at, and money to be spent where it can benefit the smartest no matter what class they come from, and no matter what their last name is, perhaps? Even those snotty nosed village kids have potential and some might even be gifted, if you took the time to give them a chance and notice them.

I was one of those kids once not so long ago.

Edited August 25, 2013 by TheGhostWithin

[Tatsujin]

But there is NO recession we keep getting told . . . and as for Tourism, overpriced, underwhelming service, bad quality, fake smiles and bad attitudes . . . no wonder people are going elsewhere.

[NCFC]

A sign that domestic price inflation is finally hitting international tourist arrivals into Thailand perhaps?

Time for those internal policies which stoke the flames of inflation and make the poor poorer to be re-looked at, and money to be spent where it can benefit the smartest no matter what class they come from, and no matter what their last name is, perhaps? Even those snotty nosed village kids have potential and some might even be gifted, if you took the time to give them a chance and notice them.

I was one of those kids once not so long ago.

I think the local Thai market is probably more outbound flights than international inbound flights.

[pomchop]

CheapTickets claims it is a leading online air-ticketing agent in Thailand even though it has operated here only 20 months.

saying you are "A" leading online ticketing agent is not the same as saying you are THE leading online agent.....I am "A" handsome man but that doesn't make me tom cruise.

[givenall]

A sign that domestic price inflation is finally hitting international tourist arrivals into Thailand perhaps?

Time for those internal policies which stoke the flames of inflation and make the poor poorer to be re-looked at, and money to be spent where it can benefit the smartest no matter what class they come from, and no matter what their last name is, perhaps? Even those snotty nosed village kids have potential and some might even be gifted, if you took the time to give them a chance and notice them.

I was one of those kids once not so long ago.

I think the local Thai market is probably more outbound flights than international inbound flights.

To seem no one has any clue what is going on, they all using monkey to through dart at the chart. No one uses data to analyze the situation and they all have fortune tellers that tell them about future

[davejones]

But there is NO recession we keep getting told . . . and as for Tourism, overpriced, underwhelming service, bad quality, fake smiles and bad attitudes . . . no wonder people are going elsewhere.

LOL. People are still coming to Thailand. Everyone I know who holidays in Thailand has a great time, and the marvel at how cheap it is. And they all either come back or plan to. I think you are confusing what some grumpy expats see with what tourists see. Thailand is one of the world's top tourist destinations, and you don't get to be on of the top places if you're overpriced, provide bad service, bad quality, etc. Even as an expat, I find prices in Thailand incredible cheap. Accommodation in Bangkok is a small fraction of what it is in London. Accommodation is a smaller town in Thailand is a fraction of the cost of a similar UK town. Eating out is incredibly cheap, even in Bangkok. Service is much better than the UK. Attitudes are better than UK. Quality can be variable, but there are quality places, goods and services in Thailand that beat the UK. I would prefer to see a doctor in Bangkok than London.

So where do you think people are going?

[davejones]

CheapTickets claims it is a leading online air-ticketing agent in Thailand even though it has operated here only 20 months.

saying you are "A" leading online ticketing agent is not the same as saying you are THE leading online agent.....I am "A" handsome man but that doesn't make me tom cruise.

They aren't claiming to be THE leading online agent, so what's your point?