Small hotel operators cash in as Thailand’s tourism industry starts reviving post-Covid
The first seven months of this year have seen more than 500 new entities emerge in Thailand’s hotel industry, mostly small companies with a registered capital of up to 5 million baht.
This surge in small operators indicates an economic recovery and revival of Thailand’s tourism industry, helped by supportive legislation for small enterprises.
Over the past three years, Thailand, like the rest of the world, grappled with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the tourism sector. However, by 2023, the situation gradually improved with businesses adapting to the “new normal”.
According to the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Business Development, there has been a notable recovery in the hospitality industry with a surge in new registrations from January to July this year.
This period saw the establishment of 546 new corporate entities, marking a 51% increase compared to the same period last year.
Tosapol Tangsubutr, director-general of the Department of Business Development, said Thailand currently has 12,826 registered hotels, representing 1.45% of all businesses in the country.
What is particularly interesting is that 95.04% or 12,190 hotels are small, while 514 or 4.01% are medium-sized and 122 or 0.95% are large businesses.
The first six months of this year have also seen an increase in domestic tourists and a surge in hotel occupancy. Bangkok saw 15 million visitors, marking a 120.9% increase in arrivals, while the South saw 13 million visitors marking a 97.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Thailand, as a whole, also welcomed more than 12.9 million foreigners during the period.
Several factors played a key role in this growth, with people and businesses repurposing buildings, townhouses and homestays for hotel operations. This has led to the emergence of new entrepreneurs offering diverse accommodation options and unique local experiences.
According to the Department of Business Development, total revenue for the hotel industry in the 2022 fiscal year rose by 103.49 billion baht, rising by 1.07-fold compared to the previous year.
Despite some initial losses due to the pandemic, a drop in losses by over 60.47% from the previous year signals positive growth in Thailand’s hotel industry.
This industry continues offering promising prospects for Thailand, especially as domestic tourism remains to be a key driver of the Thai economy. Amid a global economic slowdown, Thailand’s tourism is expected to rebound further with an influx of foreign tourists on the horizon, which will be beneficial for the hospitality industry.
