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Thailand: Travel industry pleads for flood relief
Tourism operators in flood-hit provinces are urging the government to help resolve the flooding before the domestic subsidy campaigns start next month.
Wiwat Tharawiwat, president of the Thai Hotels Association’s lower northern chapter, said prior to the flooding, the occupancy rate for 150 hotels in Sukhothai was in the single digits because of travel restrictions that require a full vaccination certificate and a negative Covid-19 test result.
Several provinces have been affected by tropical storm Dianmu, including Sukhothai, which was one of the hardest-hit areas.
He said the main roads are obstructed, preventing tourists from visiting tourism attractions like Sukhothai Historical Park.
“If the government can manage the situation before Oct 15, when travellers will start using tourism subsidies from the government, travel sentiment in the province will remain unfazed,” Mr Wiwat said.
Hoteliers are receiving forward bookings for next month, but those reservations are not strong enough to boost occupancy to 20-30%, he said.
Mr Wiwat said last year the government subsidy helped raise the occupancy rate to 50%, which was the same yearly average as before the pandemic.
He said hotel occupancy rates during the upcoming winter should reach 30-40% as the flood situation subsides, as tourists prefer a stopover there during trips to Chiang Mai.
Even though major tourism districts such as Wang Nam Khiao and Pak Chong are not inundated, local tourists in the province cannot visit those places because transport in some flood-hit areas has stopped, said Vacharee Prashyanusorn, president of the Tourism Council of Nakhon Ratchasima.
There are 20,000 rooms in Nakhon Ratchasima, of which 10,000 come from 500 hotels in Pak Chong.
Most mid-scale hotels report only 5-10% occupancy rates as meetings and seminars are not allowed to have more than 25 people, she Ms Vacharee.
Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Domestic Travel, said floods in at least 30 provinces dented domestic travel, but the situation is considered a short-term problem as travellers still have options to visit other destinations.
However, Mr Thanapol said the government should solve the problem as soon as possible to build up travel confidence before the domestic subsidy campaign starts on Oct 15.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2189863/travel-industry-pleads-for-flood-relief