Upward trend in travel a boon for tour, hotel-related businesses, says report
The Business Development Department expects hotel booking and tour businesses to experience growth this year after suffering a massive drop in revenue for two years.
In its recent report, the department said these two types of businesses saw their combined revenue of 123.79 billion in 2019 fall by 70.42 per cent to 36.42 billion in 2020 and again by 61.08 per cent from the previous year to 14.25 billion baht in 2021.
The department attributed this drop to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns that kept tourists away.
This year, however, the department is upbeat about the two businesses enjoying growth, especially with several indicators pointing to an upward trend in travel.
The report also cited a forecast from the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce, which said some 6 million to 8 million tourists can be expected to visit Thailand in the second half of this year and this would generate revenue of up to 50 billion baht per month.
Another indicator is the registration of new tourism and hotel-booking businesses this year, the report said.
From January to July this year, 549 new tourism-related companies have been registered with a capital of 988.53 million, marking a 169.12 per cent increase year on year.
The report said the lifting of travel restrictions and the fact that Thailand has destinations that can be visited all year are factors that will encourage foreign arrivals and encourage travel by local people, thus boosting the growth of related businesses.
