Sluggish tourism business forecast over Mother’s Day weekend
Tourism-related business during the August 12th-14th Mother’s Day long weekend in Thailand is not expected to be as active as it was during the same period last year, due to the high prices of fuel, goods and services, which are the main obstacles to traveling and spending, according to Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
He said that the number of people expected to make one-day trips, without an overnight stay, will be as many as those who spend a night or two away, generating tourism revenue estimated at about 8.7 billion baht, a 5% drop compared to last year.
He said that the Korean TV series “King the Land” has positively influenced visits to Bangkok, with an estimated 600,000 visitors expected during the three-day weekend, up about 10.82% compared to the same period last year.
Northern provinces are expected to see about 290,000 visitors, generating tourism revenue estimated at about 1.1 billion baht. The eastern region is, however, expected to see a drop in tourist visits of about 22.74%, or only about 360,000 visitors. Visits to the southern region are expected to fall by about 10%, to some 266,000 visitors, generating an estimated 1.3 billion baht in revenue.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Council of Thailand presented its travel survey for the Mother’s Day holiday, which shows:
- 23% of the respondents said they do not have any plan to travel
- 23% said they plan to travel within their respective provinces
- 21% said they will travel in neighbouring provinces and will stay overnight
- 20% said they plan to travel to neighbouring provinces but will not spend the night
- 13% said they plan to travel across the region
The council also noted that many Thais had already travelled during the 6-day holiday in late July and early August and that we are now in the middle of the rainy season.
Meanwhile, the Agoda digital tourism platform has listed Pattaya as the top tourism destination searched for online by Thai travellers, followed by Hua Hin, Cha-am, Bangkok, Khao Yai and Kanchanaburi.
