Kingdom among top 3 regional business destinations in first half .
Thailand was one of the top three regional destinations for foreign business travellers in the first half of this year, reflecting its vibrant economy, according to Accor Asia Pacific.
Malaysia was the biggest source of business visitors to the Kingdom at 49 per cent, followed by Singapore at 47 per cent, Hong Kong at 32 per cent, India at 26 per cent, and mainland China and Indonesia at 20 per cent each.
In the second half, 48 per cent of business travellers to the Kingdom are expected to come from Malaysia, 32 per cent from Hong Kong and 25 per cent from India.
Singapore was the most popular business-travel destination in the region, making it into the top three of all countries surveyed.
The third annual Accor Asia-Pacific Business Traveller Research interviewed online more than 2,500 people from nine Asia-Pacific locations – Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand. Of them, 200 were Thais. Of the total, 50 per cent worked as a manager.
The findings showed that 45 per cent of Thai business travellers were optimistic about their business prospects. The evidence was also clear that their business trips increased from five to nine during the period. Among the reasons cited were business expansion and increased sales and marketing effort required.
In the second half, the trend is still positive, with their planned trips rising to nine from expected five compared with the same half last year.
Overall in the region, China showed the most trips taken, increasing from nine to 17.
"This year’s survey results are, overall, quite positive for Thailand,’’ Evan Lewis, vice president for communications, said yesterday. "The findings show Thailand emerging as a premier business destination in the region, with travellers from Asean and beyond visiting the Kingdom in the first half.’’
Thai business travellers were also more confident of the strength of the economy this year.
Thailand led the region in terms of female business travellers at 40 per cent of the total against the 26-per-cent average. Australia took second place with 33 per cent and New Zealand third with 30 per cent. India was lowest with 6 per cent businesswomen in the survey.
Free Wi-Fi was the top influencer over hotel booking decisions for Thai business travellers at 60 per cent versus the regional average of 49 per cent.
Thai executives were most likely to carry their own personal laptops on business trips, with 49 per cent versus regional 35 per cent. They also liked to have social-media applications loaded on their smart phones and tablets.
They liked to mix business with pleasure on their trips. For example, they visited their friends and relatives and also extended their trip to take a holiday break.
