Travellers unfazed by debt, pricier rooms
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Travellers unfazed by debt, pricier rooms

Most Thai tourists still intend to travel over the next 12 months despite rising accommodation prices globally, according to hotel e-commerce platform SiteMinder.

Bradley Haines, regional vice-president for Asia-Pacific at SiteMinder, said about 85% of Thai travellers indicated price increases would have an impact on their choice of accommodation when booking their next holiday, higher than the global average of 80%.

The Changing Traveller Report polled more than 10,000 travellers in July from 12 countries, including Thailand.

Of 835 Thai travellers in the poll, 59% of them were millennials aged 27-42. Roughly 75% of respondents were from Bangkok.

The survey found 27% of Thai travellers planned to stay at their preferred accommodation, but with a cheaper room type, the survey showed.

Mr Haines said 89% of Thai tourists and 91% of people globally intend to travel at least the same amount over the next 12 months.

"The survey found that debt and a higher cost of living didn't really have a major impact for Thai travellers," he said.

Half of Thai travellers also had a strong demand to take just an overseas trip over the next 12 months, which exceeded the global average of 42%.

Some 57% of Thai travellers also intended to work during their next trip, in second place following Indian travellers at 60%.

Both markets stood above the global average, with only 36% of global travellers intending to work during their upcoming trips.

Roughly 76% of Thais planned to spend either "most of the time" or "considerable time" at the accommodation during the next trip, which was 26 percentage points above the global average of 50%.

Chinese travellers showed the biggest increase among all nationalities in terms of international-only travel, from 13% in 2022 to 48% in 2023.

"Chinese and Indian travellers stood at 77% and 78%, respectively, for more or much more trips expected over the next 12 months," said Mr Haines. "For the whole hotel and tourism sector in Thailand, this is a very exciting metric to see."

The temporary visa-free scheme for Chinese tourists would be a great initiative to help drive Thailand tourism, he said.

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