In the last two decades alone, Thailand has been hit by military coups d’etat, the AIDS pandemic, SARS, bird flu, the May 1992 political crisis, the 1997 economic crisis, the tsunami, the disturbances in south Thailand, and clashes with Cambodia.
The recent A(H1N1) flu outbreak could make tourism contract by three-to-four per cent, causing the country to lose up to 200-billion baht (Rs30,000 crore), of tourism revenue this year.
Add to this the internal political change, the challenges of economic development, and preserving the delicate ecological balance. In each case, Thailand has been able to reach into its social, cultural, and spiritual psyche, to deal with the issues.
The past local crises and global geopolitical events like the Iraq war, 9/11, the financial crises, have all affected travel and tourism – Thailand’s largest service sector, the largest employer, and largest foreign exchange earner.
It is a complete turnaround from the 1980’s and 1990’s, when Thailand was the beneficiary of a diversion of tourism from other competing destinations such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, as they experienced internal upheavals.
In those days, Thailand was comparatively calm and able to mount scintillating marketing campaigns to position itself as an ideal alternative destination. Today, other regional countries (Malaysia, Vietnam, Macau, and Singapore), are calm and now pose a bigger competitive threat than ever.
The closure of Bangkok airport last November-December did significant damage to visitor arrivals in the high season which normally covers the October-March period, and includes peak travel periods like Chinese New Year in February.
Now, even the low season is likely to be gutted by the latest economic crisis. The head of the Tourism Council of Thailand has been quoted as estimating that the Thai travel and tourism industry will incur a loss of approximately 200-billion baht.
Most hotel general managers are pessimistic about a full recovery for tourism in Thailand by the year-end. Most also believe 2010 is unlikely to be a great year for Thai hotels as other destinations are competing with great value and lower prices.
Further, the meeting and incentive sector (MICE) has been hit hard by local political turmoil; as a result, the Asian corporate groups are the worst affected market.
International corporations concerned about organising conventions and events here may shift to locations they consider safer, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
This situation may continue until the beginning of next year because organisers need at least nine months to prepare for an event.
To counter these challenges, hotels will have launch more promotions and special packages – such as free night’s stay for three paid nights and suchlike – to attract international and local tourists.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and airlines, should collaborate to promote and increase international direct flights, particularly from short-haul markets such as Japan, Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
The burst of hotel openings in 2008/09 raises the question of whether already rock-bottom room rates can fall any further. Travel companies – especially from Europe – have been putting rate pressure on Thai hoteliers, with some hotels succumbing to the pressure just to maintain occupancy rates.
Revenue earned per room has taken a hit in some quarters, but investors are still keen on opening more hotels in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket.
On the other hand, more than 25 hotels and resorts are reportedly up for sale in Thailand, as hotel occupancy plunges to historic lows on the back of the worldwide recession and the country’s political turmoil.
The hotels for sale or auction range from five-star properties to small basic establishments. They are concentrated largely in Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), India is one of Thailand’s most rapidly growing markets and the biggest source-market for visitors in Asia. India is an emerging market that most Thai hotels are aiming to attract in the coming years.
Major increases in family travelers and first-time visitors from India are evident. Many Indians are also venturing on their first trip abroad, and find Thailand the best place to start their international travels, because it fits in well with their budget and time availability.
The growth of aviation access between India and Thailand was cited as one of the reasons for the increase of Indian visitor arrivals.
Another reason is that Indian tourists see Thailand as a hospitable, peaceful country, and a year-round tourism destination with high-quality, value-for-money products and services.
They can also get a visa on arrival at Thailand’s international gateway checkpoints, where the facilities have been improved significantly to expedite the processing time.
If direct flights from major Indian cities to Thai tourism destinations such as Phuket and Ko Samui are started, this will create a whole new surge in the overseas weddings and honeymooners market, which has proved very lucrative to the Thai hotel industryThere are three areas in which the Thai government and by extension the Thai travel and tourism industry, has a problem on its hands:
• Security and safety: There is absolutely no doubt that there has been a serious loss of confidence in the ability of security authorities to maintain preventive law and order. In Nov-Dec 2008, security authorities were nowhere in sight when mobs took over Bangkok airport.
• Dependence on Bangkok:
Bangkok is by far the most important gateway for visitors to Thailand. Of the 34.3 million international passenger movements (embarked, disembarked, and transit) through Thailand’s six international airports in 2008, 31.6 million were through Bangkok.
Although the Thai government has sought to develop more air traffic to other destinations like Phuket and Chiang Mai, they do not come anywhere near matching the exposure of Bangkok.
Repeatedly, this over-dependence is becoming a major liability. As Bangkok is both the commercial and political capital of the country, it benefits in good times and suffers in bad times.
• The image of the people: Thai people have been traditionally seen as friendly, hospitable and service-minded. The TV images of the latest round of violence have shown an uglier side of society.
Given the level of trouble all over the world today, the Thai people most probably will get the benefit of the doubt and the latest political crisis will be dismissed as an aberration that does not truly reflect Thai culture and hospitality.
But an element of doubt has crept in, and if more violence ensues in future, these images will quickly emerge from the subconscious.
Following last year’s airport closure, the Thai government did everything possible to mount a solid travel and tourism recovery campaign. Visa fees were temporarily waived, as were the landing charges, and an assortment of other airline-related fees.
Thai Airways International, TAT, and the private sector, mounted various discount campaigns which scraped the bottom of the barrel.
As it is going to be virtually impossible to cut prices further, additional discount campaigns look like a highly dubious proposition. Restoring the credibility and trust of the country is far more important.
Once again, calm has been restored. For Thai travel and tourism, this crisis presents yet another golden opportunity.
Just like it did in averting what would have been a potentially devastating AIDS pandemic in the 1980’s, the industry will have to recognise that a deeper problem exists and will need to be dealt with just as deeply.
Indeed, ‘Amazing Thailand’ now has a chance to become truly amazing and again lead the world in revolutionising travel and tourism for the rest of this century, just like it did with ‘Visit Thailand Year’ in 1987, and the ‘Amazing Thailand’ campaign in 1998.
Many Buddhists will see this latest round of chaos as part of the repeated cycle of suffering, vividly described in the faith as a harsh and unavoidable reality of life.
Hence, in charting a future course for tourism, the deeply spiritual and traditional Thais may need to look beyond superficial recovery campaigns, and focus on the cause-and-effect principles so brilliantly enunciated in the laws of karma.
Thailand today has more than enough rooms, airline seats and convention centres. It also has no shortage of service-minded and hospitable people. The requirements of immediate survival will require all these assets to be again marketed with great gusto.
Thailand – amazing once more
(NULL)
In the last two decades alone, Thailand has been hit by military coups d’etat, the AIDS pandemic, SARS, bird flu, the May 1992 political crisis, the 1997 economic crisis, the tsunami, the disturbances in south Thailand, and clashes with Cambodia.
The recent A(H1N1) flu outbreak could make tourism contract by three-to-four per cent, causing the country to lose up to 200-billion baht (Rs30,000 crore), of tourism revenue this year.
Add to this the internal political change, the challenges of economic development, and preserving the delicate ecological balance. In each case, Thailand has been able to reach into its social, cultural, and spiritual psyche, to deal with the issues.
The past local crises and global geopolitical events like the Iraq war, 9/11, the financial crises, have all affected travel and tourism – Thailand’s largest service sector, the largest employer, and largest foreign exchange earner.
It is a complete turnaround from the 1980’s and 1990’s, when Thailand was the beneficiary of a diversion of tourism from other competing destinations such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, as they experienced internal upheavals.
In those days, Thailand was comparatively calm and able to mount scintillating marketing campaigns to position itself as an ideal alternative destination. Today, other regional countries (Malaysia, Vietnam, Macau, and Singapore), are calm and now pose a bigger competitive threat than ever.
The closure of Bangkok airport last November-December did significant damage to visitor arrivals in the high season which normally covers the October-March period, and includes peak travel periods like Chinese New Year in February.
Now, even the low season is likely to be gutted by the latest economic crisis. The head of the Tourism Council of Thailand has been quoted as estimating that the Thai travel and tourism industry will incur a loss of approximately 200-billion baht.
Most hotel general managers are pessimistic about a full recovery for tourism in Thailand by the year-end. Most also believe 2010 is unlikely to be a great year for Thai hotels as other destinations are competing with great value and lower prices.
Further, the meeting and incentive sector (MICE) has been hit hard by local political turmoil; as a result, the Asian corporate groups are the worst affected market.
International corporations concerned about organising conventions and events here may shift to locations they consider safer, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
This situation may continue until the beginning of next year because organisers need at least nine months to prepare for an event.
To counter these challenges, hotels will have launch more promotions and special packages – such as free night’s stay for three paid nights and suchlike – to attract international and local tourists.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and airlines, should collaborate to promote and increase international direct flights, particularly from short-haul markets such as Japan, Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
The burst of hotel openings in 2008/09 raises the question of whether already rock-bottom room rates can fall any further. Travel companies – especially from Europe – have been putting rate pressure on Thai hoteliers, with some hotels succumbing to the pressure just to maintain occupancy rates.
Revenue earned per room has taken a hit in some quarters, but investors are still keen on opening more hotels in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket.
On the other hand, more than 25 hotels and resorts are reportedly up for sale in Thailand, as hotel occupancy plunges to historic lows on the back of the worldwide recession and the country’s political turmoil.
The hotels for sale or auction range from five-star properties to small basic establishments. They are concentrated largely in Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), India is one of Thailand’s most rapidly growing markets and the biggest source-market for visitors in Asia. India is an emerging market that most Thai hotels are aiming to attract in the coming years.
Major increases in family travelers and first-time visitors from India are evident. Many Indians are also venturing on their first trip abroad, and find Thailand the best place to start their international travels, because it fits in well with their budget and time availability.
The growth of aviation access between India and Thailand was cited as one of the reasons for the increase of Indian visitor arrivals.
Another reason is that Indian tourists see Thailand as a hospitable, peaceful country, and a year-round tourism destination with high-quality, value-for-money products and services.
They can also get a visa on arrival at Thailand’s international gateway checkpoints, where the facilities have been improved significantly to expedite the processing time.
If direct flights from major Indian cities to Thai tourism destinations such as Phuket and Ko Samui are started, this will create a whole new surge in the overseas weddings and honeymooners market, which has proved very lucrative to the Thai hotel industryThere are three areas in which the Thai government and by extension the Thai travel and tourism industry, has a problem on its hands:
• Security and safety: There is absolutely no doubt that there has been a serious loss of confidence in the ability of security authorities to maintain preventive law and order. In Nov-Dec 2008, security authorities were nowhere in sight when mobs took over Bangkok airport.
• Dependence on Bangkok:
Bangkok is by far the most important gateway for visitors to Thailand. Of the 34.3 million international passenger movements (embarked, disembarked, and transit) through Thailand’s six international airports in 2008, 31.6 million were through Bangkok.
Although the Thai government has sought to develop more air traffic to other destinations like Phuket and Chiang Mai, they do not come anywhere near matching the exposure of Bangkok.
Repeatedly, this over-dependence is becoming a major liability. As Bangkok is both the commercial and political capital of the country, it benefits in good times and suffers in bad times.
• The image of the people: Thai people have been traditionally seen as friendly, hospitable and service-minded. The TV images of the latest round of violence have shown an uglier side of society.
Given the level of trouble all over the world today, the Thai people most probably will get the benefit of the doubt and the latest political crisis will be dismissed as an aberration that does not truly reflect Thai culture and hospitality.
But an element of doubt has crept in, and if more violence ensues in future, these images will quickly emerge from the subconscious.
Following last year’s airport closure, the Thai government did everything possible to mount a solid travel and tourism recovery campaign. Visa fees were temporarily waived, as were the landing charges, and an assortment of other airline-related fees.
Thai Airways International, TAT, and the private sector, mounted various discount campaigns which scraped the bottom of the barrel.
As it is going to be virtually impossible to cut prices further, additional discount campaigns look like a highly dubious proposition. Restoring the credibility and trust of the country is far more important.
Once again, calm has been restored. For Thai travel and tourism, this crisis presents yet another golden opportunity.
Just like it did in averting what would have been a potentially devastating AIDS pandemic in the 1980’s, the industry will have to recognise that a deeper problem exists and will need to be dealt with just as deeply.
Indeed, ‘Amazing Thailand’ now has a chance to become truly amazing and again lead the world in revolutionising travel and tourism for the rest of this century, just like it did with ‘Visit Thailand Year’ in 1987, and the ‘Amazing Thailand’ campaign in 1998.
Many Buddhists will see this latest round of chaos as part of the repeated cycle of suffering, vividly described in the faith as a harsh and unavoidable reality of life.
Hence, in charting a future course for tourism, the deeply spiritual and traditional Thais may need to look beyond superficial recovery campaigns, and focus on the cause-and-effect principles so brilliantly enunciated in the laws of karma.
Thailand today has more than enough rooms, airline seats and convention centres. It also has no shortage of service-minded and hospitable people. The requirements of immediate survival will require all these assets to be again marketed with great gusto.
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