Indian travellers retain their confidence in Bangkok as a tourist destination

BANGKOK – As Bangkok brews with political uncertainty, it’s business as usual for Dusit International who hosted its global Sales and Marketing Workshop at the legendary Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel on 12-15 January 2014.

Nearly 100 Dusit International executives from Europe, North America, Africa and Asia converged on the hotel, located adjacent to a main demonstration site in the heart of the city’s central business district.

The workshop attracted a number of high-profile speakers including: Mr Robin Lokerman, Group President of one of the largest global consulting and events management companies, MCI; Ms Liu Ping, CEO of the first dedicated incentive travel and meetings organisers in China, China Star Group; and Mr Ananya Narayan, Senior Vice President - Global Strategy of Preferred Hotel Group. Delivering the keynote address was Mr Giovanni Angelini, Vice Chairman of Dusit International, who briefed the group on the company’s ongoing expansion plans.

Key presentations also included The Role of the Professional Conference Organiser in the Digital Era, Hotel Pricing in a Social World, and An Overview of Inbound and Outbound China Travel Trends.

“We decided to hold the conference despite the ‘Bangkok Shutdown’ as a way of sending a clear message to both our team and to potential guests to Bangkok: this city remains one of the world’s top destinations and will most definitely rebound,” said Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Ms Catherine McNabb.

Dusit International Managing Director and CEO Mr Chanin Donavanik also echoed the sentiment, commending his team for making the trip and holding a successful workshop to kick-start the year.

Photo caption – Led by COO Mr David Shackleton, Dusit International delegates welcome guest speaker Ms Liu Ping, CEO of China Star Group (second from right), at the workshop's Welcome Reception held at D'Sens Restaurant, Dusit Thani Bangkok.NEW DELHI / MUMBAI – Bangkok continues to be one of the main destinations of choice for travellers from India with the number of meeting and wedding groups as well as independent travellers coming to the Thai capital expected to remain high both this month and the next, according to recent surveys carried out by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

This week, the TAT New Delhi Office reported that an 85-person meeting from an Indian IT company is scheduled to go ahead in Bangkok and Pattaya from 23 to 26 January 2014. This will be followed by two different group events scheduled during the same period from 24 to 27 January 2014 – a wedding with 200 guests to be held at the Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort and Spa and a 130-person event from the Wells Sargo group joining a city and temple tour in Bangkok and staying at the Ramada Hotel. Another 600-guest wedding is set to take place at the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok from 25 to 27 January 2014.

In February, a wedding party with 400 guests is scheduled to be held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok from 2 to 4 February 2014. In addition, a number of high-spending guests will be coming from India to enjoy a wedding party set to be held in two locations – in Bangkok at the Holiday Inn Silom and in Hua Hin at the Dusit Thani Hotel – from 6 to 8 February 2014. Also, 100 sales staffs of Indian radio station will be attending the meeting at the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok hotel from 27 February to 1 March 2014.

Meanwhile, information passed to TAT by Thai Airways International’s (THAI) Mumbai Office shows that the number of plane bookings to Thailand over the month of January is 20 per cent higher than expected. In addition, THAI Bangalore and Chennai Offices said the average load factor from the Indian market to Thailand for January is at 70 per cent.

According to the TAT Mumbai Office, many of these bookings were made last minute. The Office’s spokesperson said, “While it is normal for Indian tourists to make last minute bookings, this positive development shows that Indian travellers still see Thailand as a safe destination for travel.”

In a survey conducted last week, major tour operators in the western and southern regions of India, including Cox and Kings, Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Sunday Pure Holiday, Beacon Pure Holidays, Veena World, Kesari World, Ascon Holidays and Akbar Holidays told the TAT Mumbai Office that all bookings to Thailand in the immediate period remain unaffected by the political situation in Bangkok.

The outlook for the next few months looks good with expectations that Indian tourists will continue to travel to Thailand during the school holiday between April and June, provided that the situation in Bangkok remains stable. This is based on information from tour operators visiting the TAT’s booth at the India International Travel and Tourism Exhibition, which was held in Mumbai from 16 to 18 January 2014.

Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik, Governor of TAT said, “We will continue to provide “as it happens” information about the current political situation in Thailand to tourists and tour operators in India. The key message in our daily situation update is that Thailand remains a welcoming tourist destination. Thailand is a large country, and tourists can essentially avoid the demonstration areas while still enjoying the many tourist attractions and activities in the country.”

Sourced: TravelDailyNews