Samut Sakhon outbreak hits New Year hotel bookings
Thailand’s domestic tourism market has been rocked by the outbreak of Covid-19 in Samut Sakhon province that has so far spawned more than 1,000 cases and threatened New Year celebrations across the country.
Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said the surge in infections has hit hotel bookings for New Year holidays. Many tourists have cancelled advance bookings, leaving hotels to foot the bill for singers, performers and DJs already booked for New Year celebrations.
The outbreak is expected to hurt the hospitality business in Bangkok and Hat Yai in the South, both of which are heavily dependent on foreign tourists. In Bangkok some hotels are bustling, but many have remained closed since the start of the virus crisis in early 2020 and are unlikely to open soon given New Year countdowns may be cancelled.
New Year domestic tourism in secondary cities such as Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani will likely be less badly hit. But hotels in Buriram, which is reliant on organised events, are expected to suffer a heavy impact over New Year from the outbreak.
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that before the Samut Sakhon outbreak, domestic tourism was on course to hit 100 million trips in 2020. That target has now been lowered to 95 million trips, generating income of Bt500 billion. Meanwhile the number of foreign tourists this year is expected to be around 6.7 million people, generating revenue of Bt330 billion, for total annual tourism revenue of Bt830 billion.
Yuthasak said tourists still wanted to holiday in popular destinations like Phetchaburi, Hua Hin and Prachuap Khiri Khan at New Year, but might have to adjust their travel plans to avoid risky areas like Samut Sakhon.
“Many may also change their travel plans to long-distance destinations that require a flight for the New Year's holiday,” he added.
TAT’s latest tracker report shows that just 1,201 foreign tourists entered Thailand in October, a fall of 99.96 per cent compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile domestic tourists in November totalled just over 16 million (16,017,165), an increase of 10.4 per cent from a year earlier and up 2.63 per cent from October.
November’s hotel occupancy rate was 37.56 per cent, a fall of 32.77 per cent from a year earlier but up 3.5 per cent from October.