L1 - L16
Volume 12, Issue 15
16 - 30 April 2013
30 BAHT
Hotel occupancy best in years But tourist profile is changing L
ove it or hate it, the 2013 Songkran water-festivities have seen Pattaya hotels fuller than at any time since the heady days of the 1990s. It’s a similar story in other Thai beach resorts including Koh Samui and Phuket.
Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya, currently has a 91% occupancy
Surapong Techaruvichit, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said the generally peaceful atmosphere in the country was responsible for the hotel occupancy rate reaching over 90 percent. He denied that the appreciation of the baht had made much difference as currencies throughout Southeast Asia have been marching in the same direction. Rooms are selling fast on the continuing recovery in foreign tourist arrivals. In March, arrivals surged 20 percent at Thai airports and border crossings year-on-year, making it highly likely that more than 25 million foreigners will visit the country during this calendar year. About one third of all foreign tourists visit Pattaya
on average for four or five nights, spending an average of 3,000 baht per day. Nonetheless the visitor profile is changing. A recent survey of Walking Street, Pattaya’s most popular night-time entertainment district, showed that Russian, Middle East and Chinese visitors now outnumber western Europeans, Australians and Americans. Aware of the trend, the Foreign Tourist Police Assistants are actively trying to recruit more speakers of Russian and Asian languages. The hotel industry, meanwhile, is facing a shortage of skilled labour, especially housekeepers and receptionists to serve the growing demand. Wages are rising in accordance with market forces. “We can no longer pay the minimum wage. Even manual workers and those working in four- star hotels now receive a minimum of 10,000 baht monthly,” according to a source at one of Pattaya’s most exclusive resorts. Continued on page 4