Floods reduce the number of foreign tourists

The total number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand this year is expected to be 18.8 million, falling short of the previous target of 19.5 million visitors, according to the Tourism Department.

It will take a while before the Ayutthaya Historical Park and other attractions in areas affected by the floods see tourist numbers rise back to normal.

The target was revised after 28 provinces in the central region, including Bangkok have been flooded for the past couple of months, leaving millions of people homeless, the World Heritage Site in Ayutthaya submerged and accessibility by land to various provinces hampered.

During the first eight months of 2011, foreign tourists arriving in the country increased by 28.6% from last year to 12.9 million visitors, making the original target achievable, but the number of international visitors started to decline in September.

On average, the number of international tourists arriving in the country is in the range of 1.5-1.8 million visitors a month, but during September, the number dropped to 1.4 million visitors and there were about 90,000 fewer visitors in October.

For November, there are about 25,000 foreign tourists arriving in Thailand each day and the forecast for this month will drop by almost half to 750,000 visitors.

Although the Tourism Authority of Thailand has worked hard to promote other parts of the country that have not been affected by the floods, the target of 19.5 million visitors seems too high to reach.

The Kasikorn Research Centre also predicted that the flood situation in Bangkok will cause the tourism industry losses of 15-25 billion baht during the fourth quarter of this year.

If the floodwaters recede this month and the tourists are confident enough to visit the country in December, the total number of foreign tourists could reach 18.9 million visitors with an estimated loss of 15 billion baht.

If the flood situation continues to December, the total number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand this year could decline to 18.6 million visitors and business lost for the tourism industry alone could reach 25 billion baht.

Heritage help

The government has asked the Unesco office in Bangkok to help with the restoration of the World Heritage Site of Ayutthaya.

A Unesco expert team will also help assess the flood impact and help organise training programmes showing how to handle the reconstruction of damaged buildings, roads and historic monuments, said Unesco expert on Technical and Vocational Education and Training Youngsup Choi.

Thailand also applied for emergency assistance from the World Heritage Fund which will cover emergency measures and help to draw up an emergency plan for the safeguarding of the site.

Thailand has been a member of the World Heritage Convention since 1987. The historic city of Ayutthaya was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991.

Visit whc.unesco.org

Airlines update

- Thai Airways International has launched direct flights from Copenhagen to Phuket three times a week to promote the destination that has not been affected by the floods.

The first flight arrived in Phuket on November 12 with 88% of cabin capacity and the travel time was 10 hours and 35 minutes. On the return, passengers must fly back to Suvarnabhumi Airport to connect with THAI's flights to Copenhagen.

THAI also operates daily flights from Phuket to Hong Kong, Seoul and Perth. The percentage of passengers booked on these flights in December 2011 are 87, 80 and 65 respectively.

Visit www.thaiairways.com or call 02-356-1111.

Garuda Indonesia will increase its flights to Korea to serve the higher number of Korean passengers during the high season.

The airline will provide daily flights from Bali to Seoul this month and from Jakarta to Seoul in December.

"Korea is a prospective market for us and business between Korea and Indonesia is growing strongly," said the airline CEO Emirsyah Satar.

The number of Korean visitors to Indonesia topped three million last year, up 17% from the year before.

The airlines "Visa on Board" service with two immigration officers shortens the waiting time for passengers at immigration counters.

This service, which is currently offered on some Garuda flights, will soon be provided on the Seoul-Bali route, Emirsyah said.

Hotels update

- Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villa Resort & Spa has been opened on Tong Nai Pan Noi beach, on the northeast of Koh Phangan in Surat Thani.

The luxurious resort offers 44 suites and villas, ranging in space from 100 to 250 square metres and each featuring a private plunge pool.


Other facilities include a restaurant, bar, beachfront infinity pool, spa, fitness centre, library with PCs, gift shop and 37-foot ocean cruiser for transfers and excursions.

Visit http://phangan-rasananda.anantara.com

- Cha Am Beach resort has been renamed Hotel de la Paix Cha Am Beach this month.

Owned by KS Resorts, the boutique hotel was originally known as Alila Hotel and Resort but was renamed Cha Am Beach resort after a management team change in April.

It provides 79 rooms, including seven villas with private pools and maintains the existing boutique design by well-known architect Duangrit Bunnag.

Based in Bangkok, KS Resorts also owns Hotel de La Paix Siem Reap, Hotel de la Paix Luang Prabang, 3 Nagas Luang Prabang, The Yamu Phuket and Park Hyatt Maldives.

Visit www.hoteldelapaixhh.com

Accor has opened Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway on Bai Lan Bay in Koh Chang, Trat.

Located about four kilometres from the popular Lonely Beach and three kilometres from Bang Bao fishing village, the luxurious resort provides 96 rooms and villas some of which also have private pools.

Other facilities include two restaurants, lobby bar, pool bar, swimming pool, fitness centre, spa and meeting room with a capacity to accommodate up to 200 guests.