Foreigners staying away as floods stay

Thailand’s tourism industry will slow down in the final quarter and arrivals from key markets will drop by 10 per cent if the problem of flooding is not solved soon, warns Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA).
He said travel agencies in Japan, South Korea and China were keeping an eye on the situation and asking ATTA when the flooding would improve because they want to bring package tours to key destinations, namely Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai.
“These three markets are very worried about the flooding and will not visit if the floods continue through October.” He added that tourists from long-haul markets such as Europe and the Americas were also concerned about making reservations during high season this year.
ATTA predicted that the number of inbound tourists from key markets would drop by 10 per cent if the flooding situation did not get addressed immediately.
According to ATTA statistics, 2.2 million international visitors booked their trips with ATTA travel agents between January 1 and September 27, recording a 57-per-cent increase over the same period last year.
The nine highest-growth markets during this period were all in Asia, with China showing 122-per-cent growth with 470,000 more arrivals; Russia soaring 102 per cent with another 300,000 arrivals; and India rising 10 per cent with 180,000 more visitors.
Sisdivachr said arrivals from Asian countries should grow by 50 per cent in the current final quarter of the year mainly because Thailand is politically stable and the post-earthquake crisis in Japan is improving.
Surapol Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said last week that flooding had brought domestic tourism to a halt because people could not travel to flooded areas.
According to private-sector estimates, overall domestic tourism has dropped by 30 per cent, with Bangkok and Chiang Mai the most affected.
The Association of Domestic Travel has learned that tourists have cancelled many travel packages sold before several provinces were inundated, though many travel agencies offered alternatives to customers.
Tourism in heavily flooded areas such as Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Angthong and other provinces has dropped by 70-80 per cent or more.
However, TAT said foreign tourists were still making bookings for Thailand during the high season and they should start arriving from this month to February.
Charoen Wangananont, vice president of ATTA, said the association had asked the Tourism and Sports Ministry to consider offering travel agencies urgent loans. He said small operators should be the first to receive help with a loan of Bt1 million at 2-per-cent interest.