Lack of direction hurts sector

The government may have a policy to restore the country's tourism image after months of political turmoil, but its top players appear to be working against each other, complains a local hotelier.

While the Tourism Authority of Thailand is working to improve the country's image, Thai Airways International is cutting flights and Airports of Thailand is talking about increasing landing fees, says Chanin Donavanik, managing director and CEO of Dusit Thani Plc.

He said that THAI and AOT should ask themselves what their priorities were: the country's interests or their own.

"I have been president of the Thai Hotels Association for 10 years. Over the past three years, I have seen weak governments, and business operators, including me, have come to realise that we can't rely on the state to help us in the long term," he said.

Mr Chanin has predicted the number of western tourist arrivals would decrease by between 20% and 30% next year before improving in the following year. Asian tourist arrivals would grow by 5% to 10% next year if the domestic political problems end soon.

He forecast that the country would lose 10 billion baht in tourism revenue this year due to the political strife and global financial crisis.

Reservations in the coming high season may appear good, he said, but only between Dec 15 and Jan 15, compared to the normal situation when bookings are solid from November to February.

To stimulate travel, Mr Chanin suggested that the government create new and sustainable marketing campaigns to compete with neighbouring countries.

He believes the global economic situation will get worse over the next six months. But since travel is a part of life, the government needs big marketing campaigns to help tourism businesses, especially in Asian and Middle East markets with high potential.

To promote Thailand in Asia, he said, the TAT should stress shopping, spa, medical treatment, and food packages instead of the cultural and natural attractions that have long been at the core of its marketing.

"We have sold Thai culture and natural tourist destinations for more than 10 years. It's time we changed, especially for Asian tourists," said Mr Chanin.

He expressed concern that that Thai tourism industry was now trailing those of Singapore and South Korea, which have done a better job promoting themselves in recent years.

"Singapore Airlines does not decrease its flights even in the face of loses. THAI, on the other hand, has done exactly the opposite. As well, THAI would rush to buy new aircraft after making some profits. That's why Singapore's tourism industry has sustainable growth."

He also said that some small hotels had gone out of business because they couldn't compete with rivals, saying the government should pay more attention to them. Unfortunately, he said, authorities have focused only on the macro picture because it is very easy to just spend money on advertisements.

"Some small hotels are looking for foreign investors to take over their businesses. This is sad for Thai hoteliers."

Source://bangkokpost