50% Hotel Rooms In Hat Yai Booked During Loy Krathong

[george]

50% hotel rooms in Hat Yai booked during Loy Krathong

SONGKHLA: -- Despite the impact of unsettling events, hotels in Hat Yai have achieved about a 50 per cent occupancy rate for next week's Loy Krathong festival, with most of the bookings attributed to Malaysian tourists coming to witness the candle-lit floating banana leaf ceremonies, a senior hotel official said Saturday.

Somchart Pimtanapoonporn, president of the Hat Yai-Songkhla Hotels Association, said that although hotel bookings in the November 5 festival have fallen by about half due to insurgent bombings in Hat Yai over a month ago, room bookings during the current Chinese Vegetarian festival and for the upcoming Loy Krathong are considered satisfactory.

The district's tourism business is recovering quite fast as tourists regain confidence regarding security.

Mr. Somchart said he was optimistic that more tourists would visit Hat Yai during the Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

--TNA 2006-10-28