Bangkok hotels hit by rising tourist fears over outbreak of disease

THA president Prakit Chinamourphong yesterday said some hotels in provinces north of the capital had reopened for business, such as the Authong Hotel in Ayutthaya and the Buddy Oriental Riverside Pakkred in Nonthaburi.

Sorathep Rojpotchanaruch, chief operating officer of Buddy Group Hotels & Resorts, said the Buddy Oriental Riverside Pakkred, whose operations were suspended on October 21, had resumed services on Tuesday.

Many other temporarily closed hotels in Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi are currently cleaning and renovating their premises.

Some hotels in Bangkok, such as the Asia Airport Hotel, remain closed, while the inundated Rama Garden has joined the list.

"[Unaffected] hotels in provinces in the Central region have gained more business from flood evacuees," Sorathep added.

Prakit said most tourist hotels in the capital remained open, but they were generating less business than normal as many foreign tourists were still in wait-and-see mode as regards the flood situation before committing to travel and hotel bookings.

"A big new problem is that tourists are concerned about [the possible outbreak of] disease, as none of the authorities is able to assure them the city will be free from disease when they are in the country," he said.

The THA has urged the Public Health Ministry to issue a statement and deliver it to all international media outlets in Thailand in a bid to boost tourist confidence about visiting Bangkok and other parts of the Kingdom.

The association reported that the average occupancy at four- and five-star hotels in Bangkok this month had dropped to just 30 per cent, from 80-85 per cent in same period last year.

Pakit said it was very difficult to get tourists back if they continued to fear the city would be unsafe on health grounds.

Pornthip Hirunkate, vice president of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), said the council would join with the Tourism Authority of Thailand in organising a mega-familiarisation (fam) trip in mid-December, bringing travel agents from key markets in Asia to the Kingdom in a bid to rebuild tourist confidence.

"Many travel advisories will be withdrawn in the middle of next month, so it will be a good time to begin the recovery plan with a fam trip," she said, adding that the target markets are Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and Australia.

The scheme aims to regain Asian tourists during the New Year and Chinese New Year periods.

The TCT recommends, however, that organising fam trips for Europe should shift to early next year, as European tourists will not have decided their holiday plans for 2012 as early as Asian visitors.

TCT president Piyaman Tejabaibun said business travellers were likely to cancel trips to Thailand until the end of this year.

Meanwhile, although many tourists are shifting their travel plans to southern Thailand, airline seats are limited to destinations such as Koh Samui, which is unable to accommodate large aircraft.

Hotels in Chiang Mai are preparing special deals for local visitors during the upcoming Royal Flora Expo.

The TCT said the number of international arrivals had totalled 15 million in the first 10 months of the year, up 25 per cent from the same period in 2010. However, it predicts a drop of 10 per cent, or 1 million people, for the entire year due to the flooding.

The council estimates the country will lose Bt10 billion in tourism revenue from the domestic market due to the floods. The potential loss could rise to Bt20 billion if the situation were to worsen.

Source - nationmultimedia