THAILAND’S tourism industry will recover and return to 2013 levels in terms of RevPAR within next year as long as the country remains politically stable, opined Patrick Basset, Accor’s COO for Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines.
RevPAR at Accor’s Thailand properties was up seven per cent year-on-year in November, which outperformed the market average by about 10 per cent.
However, Accor’s occupancy in Bangkok, which slid from 74 per cent in the first nine months of 2013 to 61 per cent in the same period this year, is forecast to rise to 71 per cent next year.
Phuket, which remained stable at 70 per cent, is expected to increase to 72 per cent in 2015.
“We were directly hit by the street protests and political turmoil from November 2013 and then by the declaration of martial law [and coup d’etat] from June,” said Basset, adding that the market had started to recover in the third quarter.
“Security is one of the biggest concerns for tourists, but as long as the situation remains calm and Thailand is not in the news for the wrong reasons, then we will see a return to previous performance next year.”
“Thailand remains the best tourism destination in South-east Asia,” he said, adding that while arrivals could increase to as much as 40 million from about 25 million this year, the government must invest in infrastructure to ensure the country is able to cope with the increase.
Basset said future prospects for Accor and other international hoteliers also remained strong in Thailand, given that internationally branded hotels only accounted for about one-fifth of current supply, which is low compared to developed markets.
“We signed 14 (management contracts with) hotels in Thailand this year, up from an average of 10 per year,” he said. “As the market gets more competitive, more owners are looking to international brands to manage their properties.”
Seven hotels with a total 1,425 rooms joined the brand’s network in Thailand this year, expanding Accor’s Thailand portfolio to 54 properties and 12,827 keys with another five hotels in the pipeline.
