Credit: Flickr (ilf_)
TOURISM stakeholders in Thailand are increasingly concerned about the fallout from the current political situation in Bangkok, as recent protests have already made a dent on inbound business, according to several Bangkok-based DMCs.
Due to the unforeseeable situations and traffic disruptions that could arise on January 16 – the proposed date for the “shutdown” of the Thai capital by the anti-government protesters – Exotissimo Travel Thailand has cancelled all Bangkok tours on that day and is also in the process of transferring clients to other parts of Thailand or from city hotels to riverside hotels in Bangkok, according to general manager, Michael Lynden-Bell.
The company has received cancellations from one group in December and February respectively, with another 150-pax group looking at cancelling or postponing their trip in February, said Lynden-Bell.
“Several small incentive groups to Bangkok from China have postponed their trips from January to February, but they are still not decided on the exact date due to the current situation,” said Events Travel Asia’s managing director, Max Jantasuwan. “We have received new inquiries for Bangkok and Phuket for June onwards so it seems like the interest still there but (clients) are looking at the third or fourth quarters of 2014.”
Despite the rocky start to 2014, trade players are confident that inbound business to Bangkok will pick up again once the political situation eases.
Hans van den Born, managing director, Diethelm Travel (Thailand), said: “It’s hard to predict the performance for 1Q2014, but my outlook is not negative at all…So far we have only seen a few cancellations. We’d advise our clients to skip Bangkok and head straight for other destinations like Phuket.”
In the meantime, airlines are preparing for potential disruption to regular air traffic. Singapore Airlines will be cancelling 19 flights to Bangkok between January 14 and February 25. Affected customers will be accommodated on other flights or given refunds if they choose to cancel their travel plans. Cathay Pacific Airways and Thai Airways International are also now waiving penalties for rebooking on air tickets to Thailand during this period.
Additional report from Paige Lee Pei Qi.
