Rains douse action in domestic tourism sector
Domestic tourism has been hurt by the early arrival of the rainy season, forcing some island hotels in the South to close their operations temporarily while hotels in the North have been hit by floods.
Soonthorn Chaokitkha, president of the Lanta Island Tourism Association, said the average hotel occupancy rate had fallen to 10 per cent because the rainy season had brought massive waves to the island. The downturn has affected 145 hotels and resorts on the island with a total of 3,500-4,000 rooms. "This is the low season and hotels here always suffer slow business, but this year the rainy season has come much earlier,"he said. Somchok, Seanglee, managing director of Best Western Galleria Khao Lak, said the resort's occupancy rate was only 5-10 per cent. Nipon Laonan, general manager of Red Rose Chiang Rai, said his occupancy rate was down to 30 per cent from 80-90 per cent. Tourism in Chaing Mai has fallen by half from the same period last year, according to Anchalee Kammaphichit, president of Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce's tourism sector. Piya Kemkayan, director of sports and recreation in Uttaradit province, said eco-tourism had been destroyed because a third of its fruit farms had been damaged.
|
