DESPITE a rocky start to 2014, several Thailand-based DMCs are reporting stable bookings for the longhaul leisure market.
Go Vacation Thailand’s director of business development, Tobias Fischer, said: “We’ve hardly seen any cancellations for Bangkok…The longhaul leisure markets usually book their trips long in advance. For them, Bangkok is just a stopover destination as part of an itinerary with beach extensions or round trips in the country, so the capital can be easily bypassed.”
“Phuket, Koh Samui and northern Thailand are still strong for the leisure market. Cancellations have been minimal this time (compared with past crises in Thailand in recent years), and our 1Q2014 bookings have been stronger than the first quarter last year,” commented James Ramage, group managing director, sales and marketing, Diethelm Travel Group.
Likewise, bookings are holding up quite well for Exotissimo Travel Group. Hamish Keith, COO and co-owner, said: “Although we have received cancellations for leisure travellers to Thailand, we are not really seeing a slowdown in new enquiries, and February and March bookings are still looking positive.”
However, some inbound players expressed concerns about the lingering effects of a prolonged political crisis.
Go Vacation Thailand’s Fischer said forward bookings are fewer compared with the same period last year although he pointed out that the reasons are hard to tell.
Claudio Kellenberger, deputy managing director, Asian Trails, also revealed that while there has been very few cancellations from Europe and business is rather stable, bookings for February and March are fewer than usual. “Overall, despite the current situation, we’re still expecting growth for 2014,” he said
Read more in TTG Official Show Daily – ATF 2014
