More than 50% of hotels in Thailand plan to increase their rates next year, according to a study by travel website TripAdvisor.
The study, conducted in June and July this year, found that 82% of hoteliers across the country are confident of generating higher profits in 2014, compared to 67% of hotel owners worldwide.
In total, 55% of Thai hoteliers said they plan to raise room rates next year, 47% of which said they will do so because of higher costs.
Of Thai tourists questioned in the survey, 92% said they planned to travel within the country in 2014, but would make more frequent and shorter-distance trips than previously. Of these, 43% said they wanted to reduce time spent travelling, while 41% said they wanted to cut travelling expenses.
A tourist poses for a photograph in Phang Nga province. (Photo by Chamlong Boonsong)
Meanwhile, a survey commissioned by Hotels.com said Chinese travellers were the highest spending tourists last year. They surpassed tourists from Germany and the United States, thanks the rising income of the country's new middle class.
The survey was conducted in May this year, involving 3,000 Chinese international travellers and 1,300 hoteliers around the world.
Chinese travellers spent US$102 billion on international travel in 2012, up 40% year-on-year.
It found that 30% of hoteliers in Thailand expect to see a doubling in Chinese guests over the next three years, while 84% said they had seen growth in the number of independent Chinese travellers visiting the country in the past two years, who usually stay for two to three days, spend more than those who visit as part of groups, and can communicate in English.
According to the survey, 96% of Chinese tourists went abroad for leisure purposes in 2012, while 52% travelled for business and education.
“The slowdown of China’s economy has not had any negative impact on the travel industry as China has a large population of 1.8 billon and a rising middle class,” said Peter Lee, a senior director for Asia Pacific at Hotels.com.
Thailand is the third largest global destination for the Chinese after the United States and Hong Kong. Chinese travellers also make up the biggest group of foreign nationals visiting Thailand.
The government's new policy to reduce import duties on luxury items is expected to to attract increasing numbers of Chinese travellers. The Hotels.com survey found that the top two activities for Chinese tourists in Thailand are sightseeing, cited by 77% of visitors, and shopping, mentioned by 69%.