Thailand Tourism Bargains
By Talen on Dec 28, 2008 in Thailand Hotels, Thailand Travel
With the global economy still tanking and the recent political upheavals, Thailand has seen a loss of over 3.7 billion baht in the past few months as well as an estimated 2.3 million tourists canceling plans to travel to the kingdom.
Now, with yet another new Prime Minister, and even more political protests on the horizon from the opposition party, the red shirts this time ( DAAD), Thailand is poised to become the bargain of the century.
Thailand tourism officials and travel agents are forecasting bargain prices in the coming months on everything from flights to hotel rooms. right now it’s high season in Thailand, the time of year when millions of tourists are expected to spend billions of baht but by all accounts this is the worst high season in a very long time.
Normally during high season occupancy in all hotels is at 90%, this years high season has seen hotel occupancy at 10%-15%. Officials have said that right now Thailand’s tourism economy is significantly worse than after the 2004 tsunami.
If the tourism officials are right and the Thai’s don’t revert to the normal practice of charging more because less people are coming then there might be some incredible deals coming soon.
If you have been thinking about Thailand as a travel destination then the next few months might provide you with incredible opportunitys to save…if you are like me and going back to Thailand no matter what then it seems a good bet that there will be significant discounts to be had.
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Talen I took a trip to the Hua Hin area over Christmas, my observations suggest that there are indeed many less tourists.
Here in Prachuap, which is a bit of a back water, there are usually plenty of farang around at this time. This year another western face is a rare sight.
I haven’t checked any of the hotels but I suspect they reflect the overall trend. As for bargains-not sure here- but as always you should still be able to negotiate!
Mikes last blog post..Tone Deaf and Tongue Tied in Thailand.
everyone I’ve talked to has said the same thing….tourist numbers are way down. I’m hoping for some bargains by the time I come back…we’ll have to see. If air fare could comne down some I’d be satisfied.