Bangkok's Khao San hotel operators say reservations down 20-30% for Songkran

[webfact]

Khao San hotel operators say reservations down 20-30% for Songkran



BANGKOK, 8 April 2014 (NNT) – The Khao San Road Business Association says reservations at hotels at the popular backpacker destination are down 20-30% for this year's Songkran period.

Prasit Chiaranaisakun, vice president of the association, announced on Monday the holding of the annual Songkran festivities at Khao San. He told reporters the association will host the event despite the ongoing political demonstrations causing concern among foreign tourists, some of whom have decided against reserving hotel rooms at Khao San Road.

The annual Songkran festivities at Khao San will take place April 12-15, and an emphasis will be placed on culture. According to Mr. Prasit, the event will be supported with a budget of three million baht. More than 100,000 people are expected to visit the area to splash water over the 4 days; it's expected most of them will be Thais. Around 200 million baht is expected to be circulation at the venue as a result.

Around 700 policemen and 200 volunteer security guards will provide security around the Khao San Road premises.


-- NNT 2014-04-08

[WoopyDoo]

Once and for all... will these people start telling the truth when they say the protests scare away tourists.

It is NOT the protests that scare them away, in fact when they were peaceful, they were themselves a tourist attraction, it is when the grenades and bullets started flying from the red shirts that the numbers went down.

So in future it would be nice to hear someone say that business was declining because of government backed terrorist attacks at the hands of red shirts who are more than careless and indiscriminate about where they bomb and shoot.

[marcusd]

Serves them right. If people tolerate corruption and vote it in, let them reap what they sow

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

[angsta]

Ergghhh so what percentage of the guest houses on the KSR take reservations anyway? Not many is my guess.

WoopyDoo there is a village somewhere missing it's idiot. Can you report back please.

[belg]

tourism is only 8% of gdp anyway... so why make so much fuzz about it ?

[wabothai]

Tourism in neigbouring countries is on the rise. thailand watch out.....reservations will be down forever.

[wabothai]

Tourism in neigbouring countries is on the rise. thailand watch out.....reservations will be down forever.

[Diplomatico]

Once and for all... will these people start telling the truth when they say the protests scare away tourists.

It is NOT the protests that scare them away, in fact when they were peaceful, they were themselves a tourist attraction, it is when the grenades and bullets started flying from the red shirts that the numbers went down.

So in future it would be nice to hear someone say that business was declining because of government backed terrorist attacks at the hands of red shirts who are more than careless and indiscriminate about where they bomb and shoot.

Your opinion counts too, however misguided and based upon personal prejudice it may be.

[MAJIC]

tourism is only 8% of gdp anyway... so why make so much fuzz about it ?

Because everytime there is a rice scandal,money goes missing,and (like now) when the Country is broke,then 8% GDP is a lot of money,but in reality GDP is much more than 8%.

[farang1979]

Don't think many tourists come for Songkran do they? I wouldn't have thought so anyway. But the recent violence (or rather it's portrayal in the news) probably hasn't helped. I stayed on Khao San during the most recent protests and didn't hear a peep.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[Razzler1973]

Ergghhh so what percentage of the guest houses on the KSR take reservations anyway? Not many is my guess.

WoopyDoo there is a village somewhere missing it's idiot. Can you report back please.

To be fair there's a fair amount of hotels around KSR area these days and even some of the not totally dingy places around there take bookings online

Not sure how this filters into the business association but plenty of reserving going on. These damn backpackers and their credit cards and advance bookings *tsk* but like that in my day

[Thainess]

tourism is only 8% of gdp anyway... so why make so much fuzz about it ?

And you honestly believe that, you mug? Sex tourism alone accounts for at least 15% of Thailand's GDP, probably more like 20%. The government "massages" the figures. They are ashamed to admit the harsh and unflattering truths behind the Thai economy. You can't believe any statistics released by this or any other Thai government. Tourism is a HUGE part of Thai GDP, but the government wishes to convey the false impression that Thailand is a strong and fast-growing industrial nation. It isn't, unless you mean dozens of foreign companies establishing factories to exploit Thai workers who are prepared to work long shifts for less than 300 baht a day. Given the choice between working 12 hours on a factory production line for 300 baht and "taking care" of a falang with a "special massage" for 2,000 an hour, it's no surprise that a vast number of young Thai women (and men and the others) choose to be a provider of sexual services, even if only occasionally. Of course, the government doesn't want the extent of this to be known - it is after all a source of great shame to the elite - but it is astonishingly widespread. Open your eyes and see what's going on. Don't trust government figures (and by 'figures' I mean both senses of the word - people or numbers), not even in the so-called 'accountable' Western democracies, but certainly not in a country with such endemic corruption as Thailand.