Tourism Council of Thailand warns operators to be prepared for unpredictable year

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Tourism council warns operators to be prepared for unpredictable year
SUCHAT SRITAMA
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE ECONOMIC slowdown in many countries and tough competition are the key factors expected to continue holding back the tourism industry this year, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand.

"The TCT has voiced its concern over this situation to hundreds of operators. They are also warned to prepare alternative strategies to deal with unpredictable factors," Ittirit Kinglake, president of the council, said yesterday.

Tourism in 2014 was hit hard by political tensions, especially the declaration of martial law, which caused the country to miss its target by millions of tourists.

However, the latest tourism confidence index from Chulalongkorn University shows that business has climbed back to a normal level thanks to the vibrant travelling environment during the New Year period.

The study also predicts tourism rebounding strongly in 2015.

The TCT is the biggest private tourism body, with 80 hospitality and related associations as well as 122 extraordinary members.

It is also concerned about some other difficulties. It said the formation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) would likely not bring much benefit to tourism after it is fully implemented this year.

Internal political problems and natural disasters are also difficult to identify as both are unpredictable.

However, the council is |optimistic for the entire year, projecting more than 28 million foreigners travelling to Thailand, assuming no more crises or serious negative incidents. This would |be a 14.8-per-cent increase from last year. Income from inbound tourists is expected to reach Bt1.29 trillion.

Last year saw arrivals backslide 6.9 per cent to 24.71 million. During the first quarter of this year, 7.55 million tourists are expected to come to the country thanks to the reduction in political tensions. Major sources will be neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as well as from some countries in Europe.

"China and European markets including Russia are key factors for growth this year. If arrivals from these countries plunge, tour operators and hotels will be in bad shape," Ittirit said.

The TCT has asked the government to help rebuild and drive the industry by granting three short-term measures. The first is restoring safety and security, as this would rebuild tourists' confidence.

The second relief plan should be streamlining visa approvals in high-potential markets. And the third is offering multiple-entry visas for countries that send many repeat visitors.

For the domestic market, it is hoped that Thais will take 5 per cent more trips - 138 million - and contribute income of Bt800 billion.

The TCT has outlined four plans to drive the industry forward in a sustainable manner. They are developing a "digital economy" for tourism by improving access to data and information, especially for operators; promoting special-interest tourism such as halal food, beauty, healthcare, communities and culture; improving human resources to cash in on the opening of the AEC; and developing tourism networks on both intra-regional and international scales.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Tourism-council-warns-operators-to-be-prepared-for-30251776.html


-- The Nation 2015-01-13

[Dannyboy666]

Ya, Think...

[BSJ]

'China and European markets including Russia are key factors for growth this year.' A miniscule growth in Euro visits will mean diddly squat! Russian tourists....maybe someone should show them the worth of the ruble!

[NongKhaiKid]

Whoa Trigger, this isn't the Gospel According to TAT !

Got to love the report from Chula that ' vibrant travel ' over the New Year holiday brought things back to NORMAL, nothing to do with the traditional return home routine of course !

[shirtless]

The global slowdown is only part of the cause, Thailand itself needs to address some major issues if they want tourism as an industry,

[ExPratt]

I think Thailand has been extremely lazy in investing in Tourist areas . Apart from shopping Malls and Condos (Private Money) there is no investment in the tourist areas , dirty , run down areas , with cables hanging form every post , broken paving and congested roads.Everything that is built is with an eye to getting money out of Tourists pockets and not to improve the Thailand experience of Tourists.

The tourist department here remind me a little bit of Asian companies HR departments, they have no concept of assisting their "Human Resource" and just see themselves as a department for making or saving money for the Company or in this case Goverment

I live here , but I wouldn't come here on Holiday

[Tatsujin]

I think Thailand has been extremely lazy in investing in Tourist areas . Apart from shopping Malls and Condos (Private Money) there is no investment in the tourist areas , dirty , run down areas , with cables hanging form every post , broken paving and congested roads.Everything that is built is with an eye to getting money out of Tourists pockets and not to improve the Thailand experience of Tourists.

The tourist department here remind me a little bit of Asian companies HR departments, they have no concept of assisting their "Human Resource" and just see themselves as a department for making or saving money for the Company or in this case Goverment

I live here , but I wouldn't come here on Holiday

But you're not taking into account the massive parade tomoro they're putting on around Silom, that's a large investment (and inconvenience) for everyone. Not sure who it's aimed at as I thought the tourists are all "outside" of Thailand, not in Silom, but hey ho. And let's also not forget, TAT always tells us that tourism is only 6-7% of GDP, so they can afford to lose a few tourists, right?

[BudRight]

But TAT are so good at making predictions...

[oneday]

I could have predicted that.

[catweazle]

Could anyone explain to me this then:

Two headlines at TV, both of the same day...

1) PM Prayut promises a good year for business

2) Tourism Council of Thailand warns operators to be prepared for unpredictable year

Another great day of Thai "politics, polls, and predictions" and masterpieces of Thai journalism... I am so done with this.

Edited January 13, 2015 by catweazle

[Stargeezr]

Unpredictable is a good word. Russia meltdown, with rubble for a ruble. USA

still trying to recover from its tiny debt. Canada also trying to stay afloat,

but here is a heads up, with the oil prices falling, our country will be

hurting soon. I have read tonight that Alberta is likely headed for a Recession.

That will mean that the rich will be okay, however the rest of us, will

have to watch our wallets, as there will be job losses, and likely some

house losses, and lots of business losses.

Maybe Australia will have a good year and a few other countries, that still

come to Thailand for vacation.

Good Luck, Thailand, you will need it.

I think I will use my back yard as my vacation spot for this Summer.

Stargeezer

[Valentine]

This tourism council must be in an alternate universe where the Russian economy is booming with a strong rouble. IMO the Russians who came here recently were the ones who booked their package tours before the rouble freefall.

[starky]

Unpredictable is a good word. Russia meltdown, with rubble for a ruble. USA

still trying to recover from its tiny debt. Canada also trying to stay afloat,

but here is a heads up, with the oil prices falling, our country will be

hurting soon. I have read tonight that Alberta is likely headed for a Recession.

That will mean that the rich will be okay, however the rest of us, will

have to watch our wallets, as there will be job losses, and likely some

house losses, and lots of business losses.

Maybe Australia will have a good year and a few other countries, that still

come to Thailand for vacation.

Good Luck, Thailand, you will need it.

I think I will use my back yard as my vacation spot for this Summer.

Stargeezer

Australia won't be having a good year mate. We have already dropped from over 30 to under 27 baht in 6 months. Our dollar is tanking some analysts say the Aus dollar could be as low as 50c to the US by years end, so I wouldn't be relying on a big influx of Aussies to help boost the tourist industry any time soon IMHO

[ChrisY1]

This article from the TAT is warning of a slowdown in their industry........then later in the morning they post an article projecting 28 million tourists this year!.......

Obviously different bosses making personal predictions, and the problem they all have with keeping their gobs shut!

[FangFerang]

The year is unpredictable, but projections are up. ? Everyone is happy, but energy discussions are political and banned. ? Once Yingluck is prosecuted, the opposition will ...simply disappear. ?

Contradictions are being contradicted, with contraindications for the medication applied to the terminallty ill patient. Someone threw the cart onto the back of the horse and is waiting for it to collapse and die (so it can be whipped, post-mortem).

[dddave]

• Thailand: Number of tourists in this year's Q1 projected at 7.55 million

• Tourism Council of Thailand warns operators to be prepared for unpredictable year

Dueling headlines!!!

[spidermike007]

I think Thailand has been extremely lazy in investing in Tourist areas . Apart from shopping Malls and Condos (Private Money) there is no investment in the tourist areas , dirty , run down areas , with cables hanging form every post , broken paving and congested roads.Everything that is built is with an eye to getting money out of Tourists pockets and not to improve the Thailand experience of Tourists.

The tourist department here remind me a little bit of Asian companies HR departments, they have no concept of assisting their "Human Resource" and just see themselves as a department for making or saving money for the Company or in this case Goverment

I live here , but I wouldn't come here on Holiday

Very, very good point. Where this is really apparent is on Samui. One constantly hears a giant sucking sound on Samui. Like an enormous Hoover vacuum. The money is being sucked up, and almost nothing is being put back into the thousands of restaurants, hotels, and bars, the exception being the top five star resorts. It feels really decrepit, dirty, dusty, and old. Renovations are so uncommon, unless a place goes out of business and another opens. And then it is the standard renovation, devoid of any sort of creative juice. It truly feels as if the government, both on the local and the state level avoid putting too much money into the place. But, they love collecting the cash. Same for the individuals. Even when a place is renovated, it is a really bare bones, super budget approach, yet the prices always go up. In general, the quality of service on gets on Samui, for the service rendered is about as low as it gets in Thailand, in my humble opinion.

Granted some infrastructure improvement have been made in the past few years. And I do give the mayor credit for that. But, they were long, long overdue, and they have been fairly minimal.

[Emster23]

I think Thailand has been extremely lazy in investing in Tourist areas . Apart from shopping Malls and Condos (Private Money) there is no investment in the tourist areas , dirty , run down areas , with cables hanging form every post , broken paving and congested roads.Everything that is built is with an eye to getting money out of Tourists pockets and not to improve the Thailand experience of Tourists.

The tourist department here remind me a little bit of Asian companies HR departments, they have no concept of assisting their "Human Resource" and just see themselves as a department for making or saving money for the Company or in this case Goverment

I live here , but I wouldn't come here on Holiday

Made me think "It's a nice place to live in, but I wouldn't want to visit".

Story doesn't seem to mesh with headline..... hmmm predicting unpredictable?

[oztaurus]

I disagree, the year ahead is entirely predictable:

• Monday - TAT predicts a new record number of tourist arrivals this year. TV forum explodes with comments
• Tuesday - TAT official warns of <insert issue here> which may affect tourist numbers. TV forum explodes with comments
• Wednesday - TAT announces new <insert silly campaign name here> which will boost tourist numbers. TV forum explodes with comments
• Thursday - Minister performs strange act / announces strange policy which all TV posters unanimously deride
• Friday - Expert predicts that <insert latest foot-in-mouth incident here> will have only a minor effect on tourism. TV forum explodes with comments
• Saturday - Somewhere in Thailand some disaster, criminal act or other bad news rocks confidence in the country. TV forum explodes with comments
• Sunday - all the armchair commentators have their say on the week's happenings. TV forum explodes with comments

..... and ...... its Monday again, rinse and repeat.

[Tham1]

hilarious

[geisha]

Spidermike007, Samui s got a lot of competition, especially where dirt and falling down bulidings are concerned ! Look at Phukets filthy drains that stink too high heaven, the roads are so dangerous people avoid using them! Black water seeping into Surin, Kata, Karon. Who does something about it, no one! Pattaya and Jomtien, pavements falling to pieces, deep holes. Water pumps pipes and taps on the pavements(!!!!) Rats running around the main shopping area, yes, last night I saw about 5 using the drains and the shops for fun!!!! Jomtien, rubbish overflowing everywhere, the stink is unbearable, no waste bins along beach road. And what's with the empty land spaces, or abandoned buildings , that are used as rubbish deposal dumps, beach rd Pattaya and Jomtien ? The icing on the cake must be the the road leading from the statue at the Jomtien lights ( after Lynda's) going to the market. Take a stroll down there, both sides of the road. It's like entering a war zone ! So a good " quality" tourist wants to come here? Spend a lot of money to see this? The third world novelty has worn off long ago.

[The manic]

It's no longer safe for the oldies or cool for the young people. From the outside it appears to be a police state.

[elgordo38]

Whoa Trigger, this isn't the Gospel According to TAT !

Got to love the report from Chula that ' vibrant travel ' over the New Year holiday brought things back to NORMAL, nothing to do with the traditional return home routine of course !

However, the latest tourism confidence index from Chulalongkorn University shows that business has climbed back to a normal level thanks to the vibrant travelling environment during the New Year period.

I am glad I did not go to this school. It must teach fortune telling and happiness

[istinspring]

'China and European markets including Russia are key factors for growth this year.' A miniscule growth in Euro visits will mean diddly squat! Russian tourists....maybe someone should show them the worth of the ruble!

Baht-ruble.JPG

Russia now should be very attractive destination for Thai people. Thais have same visa policies as Russians have in Thailand (30 days on arrival, etc.)

[Nemesis7]

What happened to those high boosting statements of TAT and their predictions they made on press that 2015 they tourist arrivals will increase a lot???

Well to begin with, lower the airfare, lower the hotel tariff, and most of all make this country a safer, tourist friendly country, stop hitting and murdering tourists.

[Jonmarleesco]

In other words ... we've now predicted that we can't predict.

[outsider]

Wait, but the dear leader promised to make this a good year for business. He said that in a four-hour meeting with business representatives, including those from the tourism sector. So... nothing to worry about. Everybody happyeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[NeilSA1]

Could anyone explain to me this then:

Two headlines at TV, both of the same day...

1) PM Prayut promises a good year for business

2) Tourism Council of Thailand warns operators to be prepared for unpredictable year

Another great day of Thai "politics, polls, and predictions" and masterpieces of Thai journalism... I am so done with this.

Can't take headlines literally.

Did PM Prayut promise a good year for business, or did he vow "that his government would do its best to ensure a strong economic performance this year...?"

[Skywalker69]

This article from the TAT is warning of a slowdown in their industry........then later in the morning they post an article projecting 28 million tourists this year!.......

Obviously different bosses making personal predictions, and the problem they all have with keeping their gobs shut!

They all go to different fortunetellers.

[outsider]

This article from the TAT is warning of a slowdown in their industry........then later in the morning they post an article projecting 28 million tourists this year!.......

Obviously different bosses making personal predictions, and the problem they all have with keeping their gobs shut!

They all go to different fortunetellers.

Actually it's the same - Ittirit Kinglek, President of TCT. Must be smoking or drinking something. Maybe both.

The TCT President I mean. Not you blokes

Edited January 13, 2015 by outsider