Hat Yai hoteliers fear worst

Hat Yai hoteliers fear worst

The negative economic situation in both Thailand and Malaysia and the latter's national airline having two accidents may cause Malaysian tourist arrivals to Hat Yai to drop by at least 30% this year.

Hat Yai hoteliers said 2014 would be their worst year, as tourism has been hurt by economic slowdowns in both countries and Thai political problems, said Krit Prathanrasnikorn, president of the Hat Yai-Songkhla Hotel Association.

Moreover, the Malaysia Airlines plane crash in Ukraine has affected the mood of Malaysian tourists, causing many to suspend their travel plans even if they did not involve flying.

"We expect Malaysian tourists to Hat Yai will drop by at least 30% this year, the biggest decline in recent years," Mr Krit said.

But the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is more optimistic, predicting similar Malaysian arrivals to Hat Yai as last year.

Panu Woramit, director of the TAT's Hat Yai office, said first-half Malaysian tourist in Hat Yai totalled 1.7 million and were estimated at almost 3 million for the full year, on a par with 2013.

Besides Hat Yai, first-half Malaysian tourist arrivals at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports dropped by 20.5% year-on-year to 1.14 million.

Mr Krit said tourism in Hat Yai had been sluggish since early in the year.

Last week average hotel occupancy dropped to 20%, but booking is expected to pick up to 70% for downtown hotels this week as Ramadan ends.

The association wants to see the rate in Hat Yai climb to 40% next month compared with 50% usually.

"We've relied mainly on the Malaysian and Singaporean markets for 30 years. We used to think serving these tourists was enough, but now we've changed our mind. We must look for new markets to survive," Mr Krit said.

Mr Panu said the recent launch of Thailand's biggest floating market in Hat Yai should help attract new tourist groups from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to the city.

The city wants to welcome 100,000 Indonesian visitors this year, up by 25% from last year.

Recently, tour buses from Malaysia were prohibited from driving Malaysian tourists for interprovincial travel in southern Thailand. The buses can only travel in Hat Yai town and Songkhla's Muang district, a move that Mr Krit said would hamper tourism.

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