Hotels smell sweet success
Two weeks after the opening of Royal Flora Ratchaphruek on November 1, hotels in Chiang Mai have reaped more than Bt500 million in extra income, with a 60-per-cent increase in occupancy over the same period last year.
Throughout the three months of the show, the hotels should bring in a total of Bt5 billion, Sangworn Santisuk, president of the Thai Hotels Association Northern Region, said yesterday. "Overall they are enjoying an occupancy rate of 80 per cent, compared with 50-55 per cent in the same period last year," he said. Twenty-five per cent of the tourists who came to Chiang Mai from November 1-13 were from abroad, and the most popular hotels among tourists are in the three- and four-star categories. Based on the extra Bt500 million in revenues in the first two weeks, the association expects Chiang Mai hotels to rake in no less than Bt5 billion throughout the three months of the horticultural exposition. It is estimated that Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006 will lead to overall spending of about Bt20 billion in Chiang Mai. Pichaiyong Mayerkoo The Nation
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