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Thailand: Accor urges reopening, domestic focus
Thailand needs to reopen borders to international guests to ensure long-term infrastructure and investment, while boosting domestic consumption in the short term, says hotel firm Accor.
Last year Thailand reached close to 40 million international visitors versus 167 million domestic trips, but foreign visitors are higher-yielding and tend to spend more per trip, said Patrick Basset, chief operating officer of Accor for Upper Southeast and Northeast Asia and the Maldives.
He said international tourism contributed over 1.6 trillion baht to the Thai economy, almost double that of domestic tourism in 2017.
If the government continues to support the tourism industry, which is a significant portion of GDP, many other sectors such as restaurants, bars, retail, events, attractions and property development will also benefit.
“The government has done an excellent job containing the spread of Covid-19, which is extremely important to build confidence among tourists considering returning to Thailand when border restrictions are eventually eased,” said Mr Basset.
But as the country is unlikely to see many international arrivals until October, he agreed with the plan to focus on pushing the domestic market in the short term.
Accor sees strong demand at resort destinations easily accessible from Bangkok such as Hua Hin and Pattaya, particularly during the weekends.
Further relaxation of local restrictions and the resumption of domestic flights are expected to drive greater demand for destinations further away from Bangkok such as Phuket and Chiang Mai as confidence grows in the coming weeks.
In Thailand, 26% of the Accor network was open for bookings as of June 15.
The company expects reopenings to climb steadily until July 1, with another 22 hotels scheduled to start operations, marking half its network here.
Mr Basset said advanced vouchers aimed at local travellers have been successful in Thailand, reflecting strong interest for cheap future trips within the country.
In Asia-Pacific, more than 940 of the group’s 1,228 hotels are now open, representing 76% of Accor properties.
More than 70% of Accor’s global network expected to reopen in July.
He said hotels have seen renewed interest in travel demand, with reservations doubling in recent weeks.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1939456/accor-urges-reopening-domestic-focus