Turmoil sees Thailand’s travel tumble

18 Jul 2014 2079 | World Travel News

BANGKOK, 18 July 2014: International tourist arrivals to Thailand posted a decline of 10.22% during January to June this year according to Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ data.
Released Tuesday, the ministry’s data reported 11,776,494 visits to the country during the first six months, down from 13,116,566 over the same period last year.
The political tension since late last year continues to impact on the country’s tourism industry.
The ministry permanent secretary, Suwat Sidthilaw, said tourism was still one of the key industries injecting considerable cash in the economy.
“Besides political issues, the industry will face tough times as many problems remain unsolved, such as poor logistics and transport systems, tourist scams, deteriorating attractions and a complicated bureaucratic system,” he said.
In June, foreign travellers recorded 1,559,397 visits decreasing 24.37% from 2,061,782 visits during the same month last year.
All regional markets recorded declines.
Europe recorded a decline of 3.14% from 309,935 to 300,207 visits. The markets that posted declines included: Austria (-32.34%); the Netherlands (-14.92%); Spain (-10.69%); Norway (-8.11%); Russia (-8.10%); Sweden (-2.84%); UK (-0.12%); and Finland (-0.03%).
Some individual markets grew: East Europe (+9.05%); Denmark (+5.40%); Ireland (+4.84%); France (+4.49%); and Belgium (+2.71%).
Oceania posted a drop of 4.96% from 85,404 to 81,169 visits. One of the main markets, New Zealand , showed a decline of 15.62% (9,270), while Australia was down 3.31% (71,721).
The Americas decreased 11.15% from 83,239 to 73,954 visits. Only Brazil posted a growth of 1.95% in the identified markets from 2,155 to 2,197 visits. The United States recorded the highest arrivals at 54,820 down 12.15% from 62,405 followed by Canada (12,236; -11.51%); and Argentina (848; -11.85%).
South Asia declined 18.37% from 131,704 to 107,508 visits. India led the field with 81,027 trips, but was down 22.56% from 104,631, followed by Pakistan (8,901; -9.80%); Bangladesh (7,450; +12.86%); Sri Lanka (4,514; -14.07%); and Nepal (2,109; -0.09%).
Africa represented a slowdown of 25.50% from 15,289 to 11,390 visits. The main market, South Africa, recorded a 32.95% decline from 7,903 to 5,299.
East Asia (ASEAN included) reported a decrease of 30.68% from 1,370,784 to 950,258 visits in June.
The main identified source markets in the region posting declines were: Hong Kong (-46.39%); Taiwan (-45.50%); Indonesia (-43.12%); China (-41.38%); Brunei (-37.48%); Singapore (-34.67%); Malaysia (-32.74%); Vietnam (-30.12%); South Korea (-28.72%); Japan (-25.35%); and Philippines (-18.50%).
The three markets that showed an improvement were: Laos (+25.30%); Myanmar (+8.21%); and Cambodia (+5.47%).
The Middle East showed a decline of 46.64% from 65,427 to 34,911 visits. The United Arab Emirates supplied 6,775 trips, down 57.99% from 16,129. Other main markets were: Israel (5,073; -5.85%); Kuwait (3,578; -53.86%); Egypt (1,570; -45.14%); and Saudi Arabia (912; -78.07%).
In addition, the tourism ministry reported international tourists to Thailand at the country’s gateway Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in June dropped 35.03% from 1,381,090 to 897,267 visits.