THAILAND looks set to weather minor turbulences and log up double-digit growth in the coming years, a leading hotel chain has told reporters.
The market already shows signs of picking up, Patrick J M Basset, Accor’s COO for South-east Asia told journalists during a press event in Bangkok.
Bookings, which fell sharply immediately after a bombing at the Erawan Shrine, a major tourist destination, are now back to 60 per cent of the usual numbers, Basset reported.
“This is quite encouraging” he said. “I forecast that for September we will be 15 per cent down on our budget.” Prior to the bomb, the forecast was for Accor’s 24 Bangkok properties to be eight per cent above budget.
“Roughly 20 per cent of business will be lost” said Basset, referring to the room nights the chain looks set to lose next month.
An estimated 10 per cent of business will be lost in October followed by five per cent in November. The year should still finish between seven per cent and 10 per cent up on 2013 figures, he said.
“Within three months, I hope to be back to a normal situation, provided we have no more events,” added Basset.
Going forward, “we will stay in double-digit growth for at least ten years,” he told TTG Asia e-Daily in an interview after the press conference.
Accor saw 42 per cent REVpar growth in the first six months of this year in Bangkok and 18 per cent in Phuket, Basset pointed out.
