TAT Tourism Poll conducts poll to gauge overall tourism atmosphere

[webfact]

TAT Tourism Poll conducts poll to gauge overall tourism atmosphere

BANGKOK, 7 April 2014 (NNT) —The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has conducted a poll to survey Thais on a range of issues including questions about where people are travelling for the Songkran Festival as well as how people plan to watch the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.

The poll asked 1,800 respondents, comprised of 600 accommodation owners, along with 1,200 other people in six major tourist attractions of Thailand: Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Cholburi, Khon Kaen, Chiangmai, and Songkla.

The survey, conducted during 1-8 March 2014, found that people mostly plan to travel during April (86.5%), and the top-three favorite places are Chiangmai (10.7%), Phuket (6.4%), and Cholburi (6.4%).

The top three popular places to go for the Thai New Year celebration are Pattaya (28.3%), Bangkok’s Khao San Road (22.9%), and Chiang Mai’s moat (15.5%). Most people who are travelling in May plan to go during the National Labor Day (1 May) and Coronation Day (5 May).

Moreover, 79.2% of accommodation providers expect the tourism atmosphere to be robust during the Songkran Festival, and 53.7% said that they expect the atmosphere to be bustling during the long holidays in May. However, 46.3% believe that the atmosphere will continue to be dull due to the low season among foreign tourists, Thailand’s sluggish economy and the prolonged political unrest.

The poll also asked about the upcoming World Cup that will be held in Brazil from June 12 to July 13. Almost 60% of respondents said they will watch the matches live, 39.5% said they planned to watch at their friend’s house, 35% at restaurants, and 23.5% at outdoor activity squares. 65.7% of operators answered that they still do not have any plan for the World Cup, but 18.7% will extend closing time for restaurants or hotels’ pubs, and 13.3% will hold activity centers in hotels.

The TAT firmly believes that prominent cultural events, including the Songkran Festival, serve as a significant magnet that attracts tourists and that Thai tourists will travel to the beaches during the long holidays in May.


-- NNT 2014-04-07

[NongKhaiKid]

and like elections in Nth. Korea the outcome was known in advance and the future is rosy

[JeremyBowskill]

Why would TAT be interested in where people will watch the world cup? Watching TV is hardly tourism is it. Wish they would stick to just making up nonsense figures regarding tourist arrivals, its far more funny.

[NongKhaiKid]

Why would TAT be interested in where people will watch the world cup? Watching TV is hardly tourism is it. Wish they would stick to just making up nonsense figures regarding tourist arrivals, its far more funny.

[bigbamboo]

I wonder how many of those polled know the timings of the World Cup matches here?

We're off to the UK in June and there it will be fine. Here most of the matches will ko at 11pm, 2am, 3am and 5am.... not exactly ideal for watching in bars.

[fatfather]

Amazing, living in the sticks and watching young freelancers coming back home for there is no business anymore at the seaside. Amazing that these polls always please those who aren't involved in the subject. Make the same poll with bar owners/girls and you'll get another picture

Fatfather

Sent from my phone

[chainarong]

I don't know about these tourists, I was talking to one on Sat and he did not know anything about the problems here in Thailand and dammed if I was going to explain , he was having a week in Pattaya ,so I didn't want to waste he's time in explaining, life is to short, hope he enjoys himself, he probably wouldn't believe me anyway, it mutates a form of it's own, the current history of Thailand.

[dighambara]

A useless ministry = TOT...

More money comes from long term visa holders than from tourists.

Simplly calculate the required income for long term visas and multiply against the number of long term visas issued. One, now defunct, Thai Immigration website, stated 6 million active long term visas in 2010

Yet, there is no ministry for retired foreign residents..