The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is still confident of achieving its target of 28.1 million visitors this year despite the continuous drop of international arrivals due to the current political unrest.
Tour operators are waiting to their foreign customers at Suvarnabhumi airport on Feb 10, 2014. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
“Some charter flights to Bangkok have been cancelled. Many tour groups from Asian countries such as China, Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam do not want to come to Thailand. We estimate that we will lose up to 900,000 visitors during the first half of this year,” said TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik, noting that personal safety sees to be the primary concern.
However, TAT will be more aggressive in the second half of the year in order to achieve the arrivals target it set itself for 2014, he said. It will join forces with private-sector bodies including the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), the Association of Thai Travel Agents and the Thai Hotels Association plus individuals involved in the domestic tourism industry to launch campaigns to lure more visitors from abroad.
The TCT has also expressed concern about the current political turmoil, said its president, Piyaman Tejapaibul.
“The two-month enforcement of the emergency decree has made the situation worse,” she said, adding that more than 40 countries have already escalated the level of their travel notices and warned their citizens not to travel to Thailand. To voice its concern, the TCT said it submitted a letter to the caretaker government last month asking it to withdraw the decree, but there has been no response to date.
During this troubled period, domestic travellers are even more important for generating income for the tourism industry, Ms Piyaman noted.
“Government agencies that plan to organise seminars or training sessions shouldn’t cancel their plans because this spending will be crucial to the growth of the hospitality segment,” the TCT president said.
“Travelling doesn’t just mean going upcountry and staying overnight in a hotel. If we go out for a meal or to visit a temple, this is also regarded as spending for leisure. It can help generate cash flow for the tourism industry,” she noted.
TCT also wants to encourage hotel management teams to turn the crisis into opportunity, she said. For example, hotels in the Ratchaprasong area, that might not be as busy as they used to be, should consider sending their some of their staff off for training courses in order to upgrade their skills.
The TCT president remains optimistic, saying that when the peace returns to the Kingdom it should take no more than two months for the tourism industry to recover.
“We have lived through many crises over the past 10 years,” she observed. “And every time the situation picks up again quite quickly. I am confident that we’ll be able to achieve the target.”