Songkran tourist arrivals fall short of expectations

[Srikcir]

The blast in Koh Samui last Friday night sent shockwaves not only through Koh Samui but also Phuket. However, ...Hotels in Koh Samui and Phuket were about 70 per cent sold out this week, compared to the average of 60 per cent in the other weeks of April.

So the bombing resulted in higher occupancy.

But then in a reversal: "If there had been no bombing ahead of Songkran, Thailand would have had more tourists,"

Does anyone in TAT remember their last words or do they really don't care what they say from moment to moment?

[northernphil]

Couldn't get my summer holiday in October lasy year and had to wait 'till November but it was great once the frost had melted.. My next holiday will be on GoodAugustBankBoxingFriday.

[Benmart]

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Dear TAT, "There are lies, damn lies and statistics".

Mark Twain

Also quoted by Winston Churchill

And perhaps by several others. I prefer, for simplicity, to pick one and leave it to others to pick their favorite.

Thank you Wikipedia:

"Alternative attributions include, among many others (for example Walter Bagehot and Arthur James Balfour) the radical English journalist and politician Henry Du Pré Labouchère(1831–1912), Jervoise Athelstane Baines, and British politician and man of letters Leonard H. Courtney, who used the phrase in 1895 and two years later became president of the Royal Statistical Society. Courtney is quoted by Baines (1896) as attributing the phrase to a "wise statesman", but he may have been referring to future statesman rather than a past one".

[Johnny S]

How could this guy become "Vice President of the Thai Hotel Association"? :

"This year's festivities couldn't attract a lot of Western tourists as they preferred to visit the country on their summer vacation starting in October."

ROFL

He should know that the summer vacations of this customer segment are July to August....

Agree - oh the incompetence here ...

[joejai]

They need to lower their expectations regarding the amount of tourists visiting Thailand during Songkran. This water festival is Not for everyone. It's a lot of fun, but it has gotten more and more aggressive over the years. Thanks goes to some farangs who think their on a combat mission rather than a holiday to celebrate Thailand's new year. Want to attract more westerners during Songkran??? Don't allow the throwing of buckets of water at any moving motorbikes...or at any moving vehicles for that matter. This has become very dangerous and is a huge TURN-OFF.

Edited April 19, 2015 by joejai