Tourism season high but dry in Thailand

The tourism season is high in Thailand now and will continue till February, but thanks to the political unrest in the country, so far the prospects for this year in one of the top destinations in southeast Asia are not promising.

Adding to the unstable political conditions are high fuel costs which led to the arrivals at Bangkok’s international airport fall by 33 per cent in August over the same month a year ago, down to 600,000. In July, the number of arrivals had increased by 5.5 per cent, Ministry of Tourism statistics show. September arrivals decreased by 21 per cent, as compared with September of 2007, and tourism experts are saying they expect the numbers to remain below normal as worsening financial conditions around the globe prompt travellers to stay at home.

In a country which thrives on tourism, this is a very bad blow for the economy. The chairman of the Tourism Council of Thailand, Kongkirt Hiranyakit, estimates that around one million Thais work in the tourism sector, with 700,000 involved in small- and medium-sized enterprises. He said: “The current crisis could hit around 10 percent of those or around 60,000 to 70,000 people.”

“We will probably have a very bad high season,” said a spokesman for the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Oliver Martin.

“It’s going to be everyone - from the luxury resort right down to a small tour operator, a mom-and-pop shop or a restaurant,” he added.