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Amazing times in Thailand
Issue of TTG Asia May 15 - May 21 1998
Luzi Matzig, group managing director, Diethelm Travel, says the price is right to attract new business to the Kingdom during the Amazing Thailand campaign.
Opinion
THESE are actually buoyant times for Thailand's inbound industry. Generally local tour operators are doing very well this year, with most figures for major companies up by 15 to 30 per cent.
The Amazing Thailand promotion is having a positive effect, and what the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has produced, given its budget difficulties, has been excellent.
There has been much discussion on what currency Thai hotels should charge in and whether southern resorts in Phuket and Koh Samui are doing themselves a disservice by asking for rate increases of 30 per cent or more.
But whether hotels quote in US dollars or in baht has become a non-issue.
We deal with more than 300 hotels in Thailand and fewer than 10 are sticking to US dollar-only rates. A few remain reluctant, especially in Phuket, to sign contracts in baht but we are working on it and hope to have a positive conclusion.
Like many other tour operators, we publish rates in both US dollars and baht.
If we cannot conclude a contract in local currency, then that property is not listed in the baht section. The only downside is less exposure for the hotel.
Another problem has centred on rate increases being asked by Thai resort hotels. It is true that all beach resorts are doing much better than last year. Even during the traditional off season, you will be hard pressed to find rooms in Koh Samui or Phuket.
In our experience, most have increased rates fairly and these increases on average are below 30 per cent. When you convert from baht to hard currency of the respective source markets, hotel prices in Thailand are for sure, less than they were at the same time last year.
This is fine with most legitimate overseas tour wholesalers. They understand this and accept that the increases are because of rising operating costs, because of imported content and adjustments for devaluation.
There are isolated incidents of higher increases, but these are the exception and not the norm. We know of very select properties in southern Thailand that have done this, especially during the holiday season between Christmas and New Year.
However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and these beach resorts are booked solid for the coming holiday period.
Demand is exceeding supply in these destinations and the end result is that it is no longer the buyer's market as it was a few years back. There will not be much of a low season this year, but during this time, Thai resort hotels still offer the region's best value for money.
It gives hotels the chance to make money after many lean years. And if overseas tour operators buy wisely, Thailand is still cheaper than ever before.
Tourists continue to flood in, confirming Thailand's status as the natural gateway to Indochina, and increase business to its neighbours. This concept has been aggressively marketed by the TAT. It is only a matter of time before it realises its full potential.
The easing of international fears regarding Cambodia with the death of Pol Pot, and the expected launch of a Koh Samui to Siem Reap route on Bangkok Airways will further help boost Thailand's status as a gateway.
I still think Myanmar will prove to be the region's number one destination after Thailand. Yunnan is also getting popular.
One opportunity that must be met to take full advantage of the Thailand's popularity is the need for special event calendars from the TAT. We are hoping they will be out in time to put in the 1999 brochures but we haven't received confirmation yet.
Thailand has also been very lucky that we haven't had to deal with the haze problem other ASEAN countries have suffered. I check it everyday and give thanks that we are outside of the hot spots. We have put a haze update on the Diethelm Travel home page to update the trade on the situation.
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