North Asian markets are powering the recovery of Thailand’s tourism sector that are showing promising signs of an inbound revival now that the curfews have been lifted, according to the latest analysis from Abacus and Forward Data SL.
Thailand receiving increased arrivals from North Asia.
Renewed confidence among Abacus travel agents in Seoul are generating a 67% spike in air bookings for the island of Phuket in the second quarter of this year.
Reservations from Seoul to Bangkok are also up 19% on the same period last year.
Shanghai and Hong Kong travellers have also reportedly taken a more positive stance on the Land of Smiles, returning to Bangkok in 31% and 18% higher numbers respectively over Q2, compared to Q1 Abacus numbers.
The decline in Taipei’s flight reservations for Thailand has also slowed dramatically and should turn around soon, according to the report.
Steven Ong, general manager for Abacus in Thailand, said, “Political unrest is not new to this market and our reputation for exceptional hospitality is working in our favour, with the caution post-coup giving way to more practical concerns over accommodation and exchange rates. Thailand could now be through the worst.”
The analysis is supported with statistics from traveller data intelligence specialist ForwardKeys.com, which earlier this year documented a catastrophic 79% drop in bookings from within the Asia Pacific region in the 22 May week of the coup – along with the corollary of a 33% increase in outbound bookings.
Phuket bookings from 22 May to 16 June fell by 13%, and to Bangkok by 42%. However, as early as the week of 10 June, China’s bookings for arrivals in September were up by a factor of 6, when compared to same period in 2013. The Chinese mainland was effectively leading the regional recovery.
Olivier Jager, CEO for Forward Keys, said, “Thailand’s amazing ability to recover quickly is once again materialising, with North Asia’s strong performance.”
Issued bookings for future arrivals in Thailand from the Asia Pacific region may not be reaching 2013 values yet, but drops are not as deep. Bookings for October gave the most optimistic values with a -1.4% variation on the same month last year.
For arrivals between October and December, bookings from the main feeder of mainland China saw a moderate average 8.6% increase, with Hong Kong at 0.3%, although Japan is at -31%.
Looking ahead, Abacus expects to see inbound booking volumes lift “between 8% and 15% in aggregate for business ,as well as leisure travel assuming confidence from regional markets continues to rise,” added Ong.
