Nordic travellers weather crisis

BANGKOK, 6 June 2012: Thailand remains a top destination for travellers from Nordic countries despite the economy crisis in Eurozone, according to TUI Nordic product and purchase manager, Tommy Serban.

He made the comment in an interview with TTR Weekly ,Tuesday, at its award ceremony held at Sofitel Sukhumvit Bangkok.

During the Blue Awards ceremony for TUI Nordic’s hotel partners in Thailand, the tour operator’s presentation showed that Thailand still ranked as the second most popular destination for TUI Nordic customers after Grand Canary Island in Spain.

But he warned that the southern beach resort of Phuket, Thailand’s most popular destination for Nordic travellers, could lose business if it did not deal with taxi scams and other security issues that are front page stories in the Nordic media.

“There is a negative customer response due to scams in Phuket, but so far it has not caused a decline in popularity, possibly because we warn our customers to be vigilant and cautious,” said Mr Serban.

TUI Nordic sells mainly three destinations in Thailand; Khao Lak, Phuket and Krabi. In the past it used chartered flights to Bangkok, but they have been phased out due to high fuel costs.

“Our three main destinations are doing very well; with around 40% repeat customers,” said Mr Serban. “Our charters to Bangkok were hit by high fuel costs so we decided to focus on core destinations,” he added.

The Eurozone crisis has so far not deterred travellers from the Nordic markets of Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

“Of course people will tighten their belts and spend less, but the length of stay remains about the same, mainly because it is a long flight and not worth it for a short stay,” he explained.

Clients stay for around two to three weeks.

The company has recently introduced Trang as a new destination on the Andaman Sea coast around 200 km south of Phuket.

On expanding to the Mekong region he said: “For now we don’t have any plans. It will depend on customer response and so far it has not been a factor,” he added.

Last year, TUI Nordic supplied around 130,000 tourists to Thailand. This year, it might decline due to the lack of Bangkok charters.

Sourced: ttrweekly