South does better in tourist arrivals
Tourism in the southern provinces picked up significantly in the first quarter of the year despite political turmoil and surging oil prices, but the industry took a turn for the worse in the North, according to a Bank of Thailand report.
Border checkpoints in the South saw traffic more than double as 706,939 tourists passed through, a 58.5-per-cent rise over the same period last year. Tourist numbers in the lower part of the southern region edged up 10.6 per cent, while the number of visitors to the western cost shot up by 217.4 per cent year on year. The figures from last year, however, were very low due to the devastating tsunami, the report said. The improving situation suggests some measure of success in marketing campaigns launched by both the private and public sectors, the report said. In March alone, 227,070 tourists passed through southern immigration offices, up 37.8 per cent year on year. Compared to March 2004 the rise was 2.9 per cent. The central bank said foreign tourists had visited every corner of the Kingdom, but the western coast of the southern region was the most popular with European tourists. "Some tourists switched to the South instead of Bangkok," the report said. Political uncertainty damaged the tourism industry in the northern provinces in March, the report said. Public-sector seminars were postponed and tourists, most of them Asian, cancelled or postponed trips. Value-added tax collection from hotels and restaurants in the North dropped by 16.3 per cent in March and airport traffic fell 1.2 per cent. Hotel occupancy rates in the North fell to 52.1 per cent, from 69.4 per cent in February, the report said. The number of tourists nationwide rose by 13.4 per cent in March from the same month last year. The turnaround in the South, however, was not enough to offset the negative impact rising oil prices had on consumption in the region. Private consumption actually fell in the South in March. The report said the improvement in tourism and related businesses had lifted purchasing power in the region, sparking increases in VAT collection and new vehicle registrations. Private investment in the region expanded considerably despite rising interest rates and surging oil prices. The investment growth mostly stemmed from rebuilding hotels damaged by the tsunami. In the first quarter, investment projects promoted by the Board of Investment were worth Bt6.12 billion, an increase of 17.6 per cent. VAT collection, vehicle registration and motorcycle registration figures suggest that private consumption in the North fell in March, while private investment grew slightly.
Anoma Srisukkasem The Nation
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