Airport arrivals, hotel occupancy fall sharply

International arrivals at Suvarnabhumi Airport have dropped 30 per cent, while average hotel-occupancy rates in Bangkok and Phuket have plunged 40-50 per cent from last month.

The dramatic drop-off has occurred since the anti-government protests started disrupting public services last week, said the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA).

As tourists try to avoid political turbulence, the number of visitors arriving at Suvarnabhumi has fallen to 56,000-70,000 a day since last Friday - when three southern

airports were closed by protests - from a daily average of 80,000-100,000 last month, ATTA president Apichart Sankary said yesterday.

"And these are the figures for before the state of emergency was declared [on Tuesday]," Apichart said.

ATTA and the Thai Hotels Association (THA) share the

opinion that tourism during the upcoming high season will be

quieter than previously expected

and that Thailand will not now meet its target of 15 million international

visitors this year.

They called for the revocation of the state of emergency in Bangkok, in order to boost the confidence of tourists.

They said the political unrest must be ended as soon as possible, as the potential damage to the industry is estimated to be up to Bt100 billion.

The number of international arrivals could deteriorate further, as Singapore, China, Taiwan, New Zealand, Switzerland, France and Denmark yesterday issued warnings about travelling to Thailand. Australia, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Canada had already taking similar action, advising their nationals against visiting the Kingdom at this time.

Apichart said airlines with direct flights between South Korea or Japan and Phuket were now operating with a 50-per-cent load factor, down from 85 per cent in previous weeks. Charter flights to Phuket are unaffected, however.

Thai-Japan Tourism Association president Anake Srishevachart

said at least one tour group from Japan had cancelled their trip to Thailand.

A group of 500 American businessmen planning a meeting in Chiang Mai has also changed its plans.

Another group of Japanese travellers is also reconsidering its plans, while about 500 Chinese from Chongqing have put a planned meeting here on hold.

ATTA members also confirmed the cancellation of a trip by a tourist group from Germany, while honeymooners from South Korea are in wait-and-see mode.

Some Vietnamese tourists intend to put their travel plans on hold for more than six months.

ATTA members also reported that incentive tourists from the UK and New Zealand had cancelled trips, because insurance companies would not cover any damage arising from the political unrest.

Many tourists from Hong Kong are also avoiding Bangkok, with none flying to Phuket out of fear the airport there will be closed again.

The good news is that tourists from Russia, Indonesia and Israel have been sticking to their travel plans.

THA vice president Surapong Techaruvichit said the average hotel occupancy rate nationwide has dropped 40-50 per cent from last month.

Phuket's occupancy rate dropped from 70 per cent last month to 50 per cent early this week - and to only 30 per cent yesterday. Hotels in Bangkok have occupancy of 30-40 per cent, down from 60-70 per cent last month.

Hotels have also been hit by cancellations of several functions.

Hotels in Chiang Mai and Pattaya are not expected to escape unscathed.