PBTA President Sinchai
Wattanasartsathorn says the coup might provide the “light at the end of
the tunnel.”
Urasin Khantaraphan & Surasak Huasoon
The imposition of military rule will have short-term negative impacts on
Pattaya’s tourist industry, but could be the “light at the end of the
tunnel” for the kingdom’s long-term political crisis, the president of
the Pattaya Business & Tourism Association said.
In an interview, PBTA head Sinchai Wattanasartsathorn said he
disapproves of the military coup, but that everyone must accept it as
“there is no other way out for the kingdom.”
The coup “is like opening a tunnel offering two perspectives, one of
which is that people will finally see the light at the end of the
tunnel,” Sinchai said. “And this is precisely why we must accept the
political situation as it is: In order to figure a way to peace, to the
light at the end of the tunnel, together the country can return to
normal as fast as possible.”
The coup, however, has dealt yet another blow to a dismal year for
hotels and tourism-related businesses in the city, he said. Tourist
levels have dropped 20 percent since April and hotel bookings are down
50 percent year-on-year. Asian tourists have all but disappeared and
serious travel warnings from the U.S. and other European countries are
hurting arrivals from those regions, Sinchai said.
The PBTA boss said the Russian market is holding up best and he expects
only small impacts on the European market, as tourists there are well
informed about the situation in Thailand and were the first tourists to
discover Pattaya. Hence, they’ve seen coups and political unrest before.
Hong Kong, however, has led the way in the Asian-market decline, issuing
its top-level warning against visiting the kingdom. Politics have scared
away tourists who still remember the devastating airport shutdown in
2008 and the deadly violence of 2010.
“Thirty years ago, Pattaya never had a high or a low season. There were
tourists all-year round,” the PBTA chief recalled. “But lately, the
number of tourists have been decreasing every year.”
Part of the problem is the over-abundance of new hotels, condos and
guesthouses. While once hotels could depend on occupancy levels of 50-60
percent in May, bookings are now scattered over a much-larger base,
making it harder for hotels to survive, he said.
There is hope among tourism-industry executives that the opening of the
ASEAN Economic Community next year will spur an increase in business.
And tourism officials are working hard to make that happen, he said.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand will showcase Pattaya at the ITB Asian
show in Singapore in October and at other shows in Indonesia and
Myanmar.
“If Thailand tourism can pull at least 30 percent of the ASEAN market,
it will be a good start,” Sinchai said. For that to happen, however, not
only does Pattaya have to fix its ongoing infrastructure issues, but
normalcy must return to the political landscape.
“The answer lies in politics,” he said. “If politics are peaceful,
everything will return to normal.”
