Thai tourism crisis is an opportunity for tourists.
Thailand’s political unrest and an eight-day blockade of Bangkok's airport had a worse impact on Thailand’s tourism industry than the tsunami in December 2004. Cancelations are coming in from around the world and while the high season was supposed to have started, hotels and their rates look like we are still in low season. Tourism crisis in Thailand and the global economy slow down will hit Thailand particularly hard.
Tourism brought in about $16 billion in revenue last year, about 6.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Thai hotels typically average 85 percent occupancy during the holidays, but many in Bangkok are less than 20 percent full.
To resorb the crisis the authority has asked hotels and airlines to reduce high season rates and fares and other main player in the tourism industry of Thailand are helping, too.
Southeast Asia's top budget carrier AirAsia is collaborating with an offer of 100,000 free tickets to Thailand under a regional marketing campaign - "Get Your Baht to Thailand.''
Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways, which were crippled by the airport closures, are offering domestic roundtrip fares in the US$100 range to the country's most popular beaches such as Phuket, Krabi and Samui and to the northern city of Chiang Mai, famed for its elephant treks and Buddhist meditation retreats.
All those offers make Thailand a great tourism destination. Traveler can enjoy the high season with its mild and comfortable weather to low season rates. While all hotels are usually crowded and expensive tourist can have great rates and services they would never have had before.
Thailand’s political unrest and an eight-day blockade of Bangkok's airport had a worse impact on Thailand’s tourism industry than the tsunami in December 2004. Cancelations are coming in from around the world and while the high season was supposed to have started, hotels and their rates look like we are still in low season. Tourism crisis in Thailand and the global economy slow down will hit Thailand particularly hard.