Hotels have started to record an uptick in bookings from government agencies that have to use their fiscal 2023 budget before the deadline at the end of September, though reservations for China's national holiday in October remain weak.
Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), said hotel bookings in September increased as meetings, both from the government and private sectors, grew by 10-20%. Bookings of meetings stagnated over the past few months as the country awaited the formation of a new government.
She said demand from state agencies and corporate clients had significantly declined the past few months given the political uncertainty, as the business sector was reluctant to spend, while state officials wanted political clarity before allocating budget spending.
Hotels received more inquiries from many government agencies that want to spend their fiscal 2023 budget before the deadline of Sept 30, said Mrs Marisa.
However, bookings from Chinese travellers for their long holiday the first week of October remain sparse, with THA guessing some of them are waiting to see if the new Thai prime minister will offer them visa-free visit, which was suggested.
She said a visa-free policy would help hotels that normally target Chinese guests, most of which are small and some have been closed since the pandemic first hit.
Five-star hotels have regained a healthy occupancy rate from individual guests with high purchasing power since Thailand reopened, said Mrs Marisa.
However, she said online travel agents in China that helped hotels in Thailand to sell rooms have expressed their concerns over the country's reputation the past few months based on viral posts on Chinese social media about unsafe travel conditions here.
As THA and several tourism operators joined the first meeting with new Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool last week, THA asked the government to restart domestic tourism subsidy schemes, specifically those targeting second-tier cities.
The Pheu Thai Party's 10,000-baht giveaway is not expected to benefit the tourism sector, said Mrs Marisa.
"With soaring household debts, it will be difficult to boost the domestic market without any stimulus programme for tourism," she said.
Mrs Marisa said following a government statement raising concern over the country's ageing demographics, with people age 60 and older making up 20% of the population, employment in the hotel sector could help absorb active seniors who are able to work in some positions.
She said the government could help hotels by supporting training programmes to recruit both new graduates who cannot find jobs and retired seniors who still want to work, steming the labour shortage.
