Low-cost tours to flood-revaged provinces

“The priority is the provinces in the Central region, and Bangkokians are our main target for the rehabilitation campaign,” Maiyarat Pheerayakoset, president of the association, said yesterday.
Ayutthaya will be the first province, as it is one of country’s major attractions for both local and foreign tourists.
 

The campaign will later spill over to other provinces in the region, including Sing Buri and Angthong.
 

The association has talked with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) about the campaign and both are ready to kick it off once the flood subsides.
 

The Thai Hotels Association and TAT are also planning to offer special rates at 600 hotels across the country to boost domestic tourism after the crisis.
 

Maiyarat said more than 90 per cent of internal trips had been postponed indefinitely because of the inundation.
 

Travel into and out of the country has also plunged. Only people in unaffected provinces continue going overseas.
 

Kasikorn Research Centre predicts that a flood in Bangkok would cause a loss of Bt25 billion to tourism.
 

To help affected operators, the Association of Domestic Travel will ask the government to provide financial assistance by waiving interest and fees as well as extending debt payments.
Those who need to borrow from financial institutions should receive extra-low interest rates.
Many travel agencies have allowed their employees to return to their homes in the provinces as business has disappeared since the overflow crisis.
 

However, many other companies now need more staff, so the association will help circulate the requirements to its members.
 

Thailand is likely to lose about Bt15 billion to Bt25 billion in tourism revenue this year as the number of travellers drops in light of floods, according to KResearch.
 

The house anticipates that the number of tourists will fall by 350,000-600,000.
The forecast is based on the assumption that Suvarnabhumi Airport, the door to Thailand to 70 per cent of arrivals, can continue to function normally.
 

Earlier, it expected tourist arrivals to reach 19.29 million, which would generate revenue of Bt730 billion.