Operators banking on Songkran

Operators banking on Songkran

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration held a water pouring ceremony and dances to honour the elderly during Songkran with National Elderly Day and Thai Family Day, taking place on April 13 and 14. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration held a water pouring ceremony and dances to honour the elderly during Songkran with National Elderly Day and Thai Family Day, taking place on April 13 and 14. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)

Hotel and airline operators have high hopes the upcoming Songkran celebration will revive sluggish tourism sentiment as the second wave of the pandemic wanes.

Thirayuth Chirathivat, chief executive of Centara Hotels and Resorts, said forward booking for the Songkran week has been outstanding for the whole month, even though it pales in comparison to 2019 levels.

Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin and beach destinations such as Phuket already received more than 70% forward booking.

He said those hotels might be fully booked between April 11-14, despite the lack of a subsidy campaign from the government, which has yet to start the new phase.

Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, president of Bangkok Airways, said the extension of the Songkran holiday to six days will prompt local tourists to take more trips.

However, the load factor during Songkran is difficult to predict as the airline is now flying only 30% of domestic capacity based on passenger demand, which has yet to fully rebound from the last Covid wave in December, with demand resuming gradually.

Bangkok Airways operates 6-8 flights per day to Koh Samui, however the uptick in demand during Songkran is increasing frequencies to 20 flights.

As of March, every route still has bookings below 50%. But load factor should increase to near 100% for the holiday week as passengers prefer shorter booking windows, taking a wait-and-see approach, said Nuntaporn Komonsittivate, head of commercial operations at Thai Lion Air (TLA).

Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Phuket are among the preferred destinations, she said.

To preserve tourism sentiment during the off-peak season in May, the airline plans to work closely with partners to offer special deals.

"We have not considered any buffet-style tickets at this moment," Ms Nuntaporn said. "But we plan to roll out more new promotions throughout the year to attract tourists."

The airline operates 11 aircraft with around 40 flights per day, improving from 20-30 flights in the first two months this year following the fresh outbreak in Samut Sakhon.

Aircraft utilisation stood at eight hours per day.

This year TLA aims to maintain the average load factor at 70% rather than setting a specific goal for number of passengers. She said the outlook should be brighter than last year following the reopening plan for international tourists.


Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (10)

Pope Francis: ‘I'm still alive’

ROME: A jovial Pope Francis joked with well-wishers on Saturday as he left hospital after a three-night stay for bronchitis, and headed back to the Vatican to prepare for Christianity’s most important week.

1 Apr 2023

Hun Sen's son to stand in July election

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party has nominated his eldest son to be a candidate in the general election in July, a document showed on Saturday.

1 Apr 2023

Liverpool humbled by Man City

MANCHESTER: Manchester City coped without the injured Erling Haaland to keep the Premier League title race alive by coming from behind to thrash Liverpool 4-1 on Saturday.

1 Apr 2023