TOURIST
ATTA's tourist arrivals in 2014 slide, despite some recovery in last 2 months
SUCHAT SRITAMA
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The number of international tourists received at two airports in Bangkok by the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) from January to November-end continued to see a slide year on year despite the expected 10-per-cent growth in total arrivals during the last two months.

According to ATTA's statistics, 2.81 million tourists used ATTA's members at Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang International Airport during the first 11 months of the year. The number dropped by 29.27 per cent compared to the same period in 2013, a period when operators served 3.97 million tourists.

"ATTA lost 1.16 million tourists due to political unrest in the Kingdom, as well as the impact from the demonstrations in major market such as Hong Kong. The economic downturn in some countries like Russia also had an impact," said Sisdivachr Cheewaratanaporn, president of ATTA.

He said the top 15 markets for ATTA's inbound business were also in the red, ranging from 17.08 to 71.25 per cent. Mainland China, the biggest source of arrivals, has dropped by 17.08 per cent while Hong Kong saw the biggest fall at 71.25 per cent.

The other top-15 markets that saw a drop were India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, United Kingdom, and Spain.

According to Sisdivachr, tourists travelling with travel companies slowed down, as they were concerned about security and safety mainly due to the current martial law. However, he said a lot of tourists had rescheduled from travelling in groups to individual travel.

The Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) reported that tourist arrivals at Suvarnabhumi Airport from December 1-7 were 496,546, up from 449,478 in the same time last year, a 10.47-per-cent increase.

Surapong Techaruvichit, president of Thai Hotels Association (THA), said advance bookings at hotels nationwide climbed by 10 per cent for the New Year season, compared to the same time last year. Average occupancy rate at the moment was 70-80 per cent.

"Rebound for the hotel and |travel sector began in October. |This would mean tourists are |starting to feel confident of visiting the country," said Surapong.

Thai tourism authorities last week announced a push to boost domestic travel during the year-end through several measures. PTT petrol stations are joining the scheme, providing travel information and manuals while commercial banks are waiving fees for cash withdrawals from ATM machines.

Although the private and public sectors are hoping that tourists will return to the Kingdom during the last weeks of this year, overall arrival is expected to reach just 25.5 million, lower than the projection early this year of more than 27 million.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/ATTAs-tourist-arrivals-in-2014-slide-despite-some--30250178.html


-- The Nation 2014-12-19

Im inclined to believe this report more than any i have seen from TAT.

According to Sisdivachr, tourists travelling with travel companies slowed down, as they were concerned about security and safety mainly due to the current martial law.

How does he know that this is the reason for the downturn? Did he ask these absent travellers why they did not travel to Thailand?

Making up reasons that are not based on fact or evidence is something that a child does when playing.

I am sure that the military coup is one of many reasons why foreign tourists are not travelling to Thailand. The economy/exchange rate is another, especially for Russian tourists. But we never hear of the other, very valid reasons for the drop in tourist numbers, such as:

- The smiles are no longer real smiles

- Thainess

- Scams, cheating, violence against tourists, lack of proactive action to keep tourists safe etc

- Alternative destinations, eg Myanmar

- etc etc

The decline in number is not solely to do with the coup/martial law, it's also to do with Thailand's image worldwide and the ready access to online news, reviews and forums such as this which pretty much ALL paint Thailand in a negative light and point out also that:

1. it ain't that cheap here anymore (which "was" the huge selling point), and;

2. if you want quality/service, this isn't the place to find it, and;

3. scams/cons/corruption have gone through the roof, and I know a fair few friends from overseas that won't come here for that single point alone, they're not interested also in having to deal with being stopped and scammed by the lovely Police here for some made up reason, and having to negotiate all the time with taxi's that see them as a meal ticket.

Never Trust a short Thai Politician, his brain is far too close to his Aerosol

WOW - 30% drop - that's a helluva lot of tourists.

".................while commercial banks are waiving fees for cash withdrawals from ATM machines."
Does that include all cards used by everybody?

Yes, coup, but, to be frank, Thailand has well and truly screwed up here through greed and taking visitors for granted. I'm afraid the horse has bolted.

Som Nam Naa

The times where you could deliever a third class product and charge for first class are well and truly over!!

I work in the industry, and in my part of the world (Hua Hin), which is mainly dependant on western tourists, the slide of arrivals is even greater. Have numbers for the last 10 years and in my estimate this year we are down 60-70%.

Across the board: Hotels, restaurants, bars, massageshops and transportation, all are suffering really badly.

So whatever numbers you hear from TAT or ATTA, take it with a grain of salt. The situation is far worse, than they are allowed to admit!!

What counts is quality

Seems to me that due to their focus on internal affairs during the last 8 years, they failed to realize, that competitors around them used it to build up a vast number of alternatives - Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia ...

Often cheaper and also often unspoiled landscapes without endless condo construction sites around the next corner.

Edited December 19, 201411 yr by BernieOnTour

So many associations all coming up with different numbers!

ATTA seems to be more believable than the TTAA and the THA in this article, but what about the TAT, the TCT and the Ministry of tourism.

Unfortunately all these organisations appear to collate their own data and statistics differently, hence the hotch-potch of information they provide between them

A better indicator? If you live in a tourist area like me, just use your eyes. There is no doubt that numbers are well-down in Phuket but will we ever get that information from an official source?

Why should tourists choose thailand over any other destinations?

Thailand is not the Thailand anymore which used to attract tourists in the past. Too many negatives. Besides many more attractive destinations find their way to travel agencies. Individual travel is also on the rise.

any flicks with made-up stories (like the one everybody laughed at) is not going to help.

May be TAT realizes that and for that reason they are trying to target a market they really don't want. In my eyes a desperate austridge.

There is a lot of work and necessary knowledge of the world market there for you ATTA and TAT. Up to you!!!

The times where you could deliever a third class product and charge for first class are well and truly over!!

I work in the industry, and in my part of the world (Hua Hin), which is mainly dependant on western tourists, the slide of arrivals is even greater. Have numbers for the last 10 years and in my estimate this year we are down 60-70%.

Across the board: Hotels, restaurants, bars, massageshops and transportation, all are suffering really badly.

So whatever numbers you hear from TAT or ATTA, take it with a grain of salt. The situation is far worse, than they are allowed to admit!!

I agree with you entirely, JOC. Further, as you noted, "The situation is far worse than they are allowed to admit!!" There is a valid reason for that separation of fact and reported fiction. Some call it damage control. Some call it public relations. Some call it a boondoggle organization boondoggling. Some call it obfuscation. Many say it is all these things simultaneously.

Some, like myself, simply call it sophistry.

What counts is quality

a quality japanese tourist is good for 10 grunge farang backpackers or "retired". some massage shops around here dont even accept farang anymore. they would rather wait outside to wait for a good japanese.

The times where you could deliever a third class product and charge for first class are well and truly over!!

I work in the industry, and in my part of the world (Hua Hin), which is mainly dependant on western tourists, the slide of arrivals is even greater. Have numbers for the last 10 years and in my estimate this year we are down 60-70%.

Across the board: Hotels, restaurants, bars, massageshops and transportation, all are suffering really badly.

So whatever numbers you hear from TAT or ATTA, take it with a grain of salt. The situation is far worse, than they are allowed to admit!!

Haven't been to Hua Hin for at least 15 years, (first visit 33 years ago), is it safe to come back now??

Sh*t farang still there?

OK who is telling the truth here. Just read there was no problem now this.

"... continued to see a slide year on year despite the expected 10-per-cent growth in total arrivals during the last two months."

This growth was NOT expected. The Junta-led government cut back the funding for airport improvements including the new runway because it did not expect growth in tourism in 2014. The Junta got its wish.