A month after reopening, Thailand sees gradual tourism recovery

Bangkok

THAILAND was among the first countries in Asia to reopen for foreign arrivals, and it is seeing a slow recovery, including new hotels touting longer stays for individual travellers.

In the first 10 months of 2021, Thailand saw 106,117 foreign tourists, a drop from 6.7 million in 2020. Before the pandemic, Thailand received about 40 million visitors a year.

Hospitality firms such as Asset World Corporation, which opened its 19th property there is month, saw the majority of its bookings come from Western countries and the Middle East.

"About 70 per cent of total bookings came from Europe, including Germany, UK, Scandinavian countries, followed by the US, Middle East, and Asia," said chief executive officer Wallapa Traisorat, adding that domestic travel helped.

"For November, we should see 30 per cent occupancy, and in the fourth quarter we hope to see better momentum from the reopening."

Thailand, one of the region's most popular destinations, is heavily dependent on tourism. In 2019, 40 million arrivals spent 1.91 trillion baht (S$78.3 billion).

Centara Hotels and Resorts is moving ahead with plans to open a 1.1 billion baht hotel on the island of Samui in December. Initially, the property expects most guests to be locals on longer stays, said the company's chief financial officer Gun Srisompong.

"Demand patterns have changed. Individual travellers on longer stays and 'workations' need more personalisation," he said.

Thailand expects only 200,000 foreign tourists this year, and about 5 million in 2022.

Thinner crowds and discounts made for a more pleasant experience, said German tourist Markus Klarer. "It's a good time to come back to Thailand again," he said.

Despite the reopening, some businesses said the government's Covid-19 rules still made some things hard for them.

"Tourists are not fully confident and still confused with government regulations," said Chitchai Senwong, a restaurant manager in Bangkok, citing a rule that prohibits alcohol consumption after 9 pm. REUTERS