Suvarnabhumi Airport & Travel Warnings

Travel Warnings

“There have been cancellations from the leisure and corporate segments as well as events business,” he said. “Some local businesses have canceled events due to the fact that many of them have been affected directly with their own or their families’ homes being flooded.”

Group tours to Bangkok, particularly from China and Hong Kong, have been canceled following travel warnings, said the Tourism Council’s Piyaman. European groups are generally choosing to visit unaffected areas of Thailand, she said. Australia, China, Japan, Singapore and the U.K. are among nations that have advised against non-essential travel to Bangkok or other parts of Thailand.

Passengers are down a lot,” Piyasvasti Amranand, president of Thai Airways International Pcl (THAI), said at the Seoul conference. “No one wants to come to Thailand with travel warnings issued by so many countries.”

The floods have “affected badly” All Nippon Airways Co.’s operations, said Chief Executive Officer Shinichiro Ito.

Suvarnabhumi Airport

Bangkok’s main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, is protected by a 3.5-meter-high flood barrier, and has remained open throughout the flooding. The domestic airport at Don Mueang was shut on Oct. 25 as floodwaters covered the runway and began seeping into the terminal buildings.

Authorities last month released more than 9 billion cubic meters of water down a river basin the size of Florida, with Bangkok at the bottom after monsoon rains filled dams north of Bangkok to capacity. Rainfall this year has exceeded the average by about 40 percent, according to government data.

Airlines and hotels are hoping that that travel demand may rebound later in the month and into December as floods ease and as the end of year holidays approach. Shangri La, Bangkok and Swissotel Nai Lert Park both said they were optimistic that bookings may pick up, even if they fall short of predictions made earlier in the year.

Cathay’s Slosar also said the airline was hoping the disruptions will end before Christmas and the New Year, when flights are usually fully booked.

“You will find people going back,” said Tan Chik Quee, Singapore Airlines’ senior vice president of marketing. “We don’t expect to see any problem toward the year-end holidays.”

THAILAND FLOODS: Tourism body calls for live reports on floods

2/11/2011 – Thai Travel News advises against non-essential travel to Bangkok for the present moment. The threat of the city became a reality yesterday when a sluice gate was opened at Khlong Sam Wa. Residents in some flood affected areas have begun to protest the government’s flood relief and prevention efforts, which have ended in tense confrontations with authorities. This advisory is applicable for Bangkok (except Suvarnabhumi Airport), with tourist attractions open for businesses throughout the rest of the country.

Officials have been urged to provide live reports on flood situations in order to feed accurate and reliable information to agents around the world.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association has urged Thai authorities to begin offering live reports, as this would also help with the nation’s recovery by winning back the confidence of tourists.

PATA chief executive Martin Craigs met with head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Suraphon Svetasreni, saying that the country’s official tourism authority would ensure accurate information was broadcast throughout the world during the post-crisis recovery phase.

He said that it was vital for the TAT and other industry stakeholders to provide a flow of accurate and up-to-date information from the ground to travel agents worldwide.

“Webcams are a good idea. As are vox-pop, on-the-ground interviews with real tourists on Bangkok streets,” Craigs said.

Koh Samui is still open and as beautiful as ever.