Thailand set for record Tourism year

#BANGKOK, Thailand - A series of recent reports released this week point to Thailand exceeding all previous tourism arrival predictions despite the recent bomb in its capital city. The official target of 28.8 million inbound tourists this year is expected to exceed 30 million - a record. 

CBRE reported in their Hotel Trends Q2 2015, that Thailand saw strong demand for hotels from local and foreign buyers. With a weaker baht, the report claims that the tourism market continued to recover strongly with total arrivals up 30% on LY. Arrivals from China the report said, are growing significantly and tourists from this market now account for 28% of total visitors. Bangkok is benefiting in particular from more short-break and independent visitors from China. The report suggests strong increases in visitor arrivals have continued to push up occupancy in Bangkok to 70% in Q2 2015, a huge improvement on the 50% recorded in the same period last year. ADR and RevPAR grew slightly, the report stated. 

"Thailand Travel Grows 30%" was the banner headline in TTR Weekly's latest report, citing international tourist arrivals to Thailand improved 30.93%, January to July 2015, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ data. The data showed the country attracted 17,504,204 international visits during the first seven months of 2015 up from 13,368,979 visits during the same period last year.

At the recent Tourism Trends in Thailand seminar, held this weekend, moderated by Assumption University’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, expert opinion suggested inbound tourism arrivals would reach 30-31 million for 2015. 

Despite the fallout from the recent Bangkok blast, The Tourism Council of Thailand is also feeling bullish enough to revise up its expected forecast from 28.8 million to 30 million inbound tourists this year. 

TCT president Ittirit Kinglake said 8.1 million international tourists are expected to visit in the fourth quarter, a rise of 9% from the same period last year. "The bomb blast at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, last month, hit the sector, but only for a short time. This will not affect the industry during the coming high season," he said. 

Reports show that since the downturn in Russian tourists due to the weakened ruble, the China market has edged even further ahead as the dominant tourist market in Thailand. Eight million Chinese visitors are expected this year. 

Thailand lost about 1.3 million global tourists due to the Erawan Shrine blast but has bounced back quickly. Hong Kong for instance will withdraw its travel warning within 3 or 4 days. The Tourism Authority of Thailand report on plans to invite celebrities from Hong Kong and mainland China to perform concerts in central Bangkok and to visit the Erawan Shine in order to promote confidence in the city. 

Finally the UNWTO reported that Asia and the Pacific recorded a 5% increase in international arrivals in the first half of the year. Destinations in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, both with +5% arrivals, was led by Japan with +47% through July and Thailand an impressive +30% through July 2015. 

Source: Eturbonews

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#Thailand, Tourism Council ups 2015 arrival target to 30 million THB

THE TOURISM Council of Thailand now expects 30 million international tourist arrivals this year, up from its original projection of 28.8 million. Last month's deadly bomb blast in Bangkok is no longer expected to affect the tourism sector in the coming high season.

 TCT president Ittirit Kinglake said 8.1 million international tourists were expected to visit the country in the final quarter, up by 9.2 per cent from same time last year. It is projected that 2.2 million will come from Southeast Asia, 3.2 million from East Asia, 1.3 from Europe, and the rest from other parts of the world.

Thailand welcomed 7.8 million visitors in the first quarter and 7.0 million in the second, up by 23 and 37 per cent respectively compared with the same periods last year. A total of 7.4 million are expected in the current quarter, up by 26 per cent from the third quarter of 2014. He said total arrivals should reach 30 million this year, an increase from the earlier projection of 28.8 million, for a 22.8-per-cent improvement over 2014. Total income from the international and domestic markets will also be higher than the original prediction of Bt2.2 trillion, at Bt2.3 trillion, of which Bt1.5 trillion will be from the international market.

"The bomb blast at Erawan Shrine in Bangkok last month hit the sector, but only for a short time. This fear will not affect the industry during the coming high season," Ittirit said.

China will remain the biggest source of arrivals, with 8 million this year. Visits from Southeast Asia are expected to rebound this month. However, the Russian market is expected to continue falling through early next year.

 The Tourism and Sports Ministry has reported to the Cabinet that the bombing through this month resulted in a loss of Bt64 billion in tourism revenues from the cancellation of flights as 35 countries issued Level 1-3 travel advisories against Thailand. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Slovakia issued Level 4 advisories warning their people not to travel here if it wasn't necessary.

Since the incident, Thailand has lost 1.3 million tourists. However, the tourism situation is bouncing back as safety matters are now seen as under control and the sector should enjoy significant growth in the final quarter of the year, Ittirit said.

"Hong Kong will withdraw its travel warning within three or four days," he added.

In order to encourage tourists back to the Kingdom, the TCT, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the private sector plan to invite celebrities from Hong Kong and mainland China to perform concerts in Bangkok and visit the Erawan Shine within the next few months to rebuild confidence in those two markets.

Ittirit said many other development plans had been drafted and would soon be proposed to the government. Suggested measures include restoring damaged attractions, developing new products and services, providing financial aid to affected operators and facilitating business expansion, and enhancing human resources.

Resouce: The Nation

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