BANGKOK, 20 March 2015 – Tourism operators will suggest that the cabinet either shorten or delay the announcement of holidays as the extended holidays have been found to contribute to more Thai people vacationing overseas.
According to the Association of Domestic Travel (ADT), the long holidays which the government earlier announced in the hope of boosting domestic spending have instead led to Thai people planning their trips overseas.
The ADT expected over 500,000 Thais to leave for Japan during the Songkran Festival and the Coronation Day’s long holidays. Each of them will likely spend 50,000 baht for the trip, frittering away 30 billion baht.
The ADT attributed theThais’ decision to holiday abroad to the stronger baht and cheaper overseas tour packages. It also forecast that around 6.5 million Thais would vacation overseas this year, spending around 350 billion baht altogether. The number of Thai and foreign holiday makers observing the Songkran festival will likely hit 4.4 million, generating 44 billion baht in circulation.
The ADT also cautioned related sectors to brace themselves for the second half of year, during which time consumers are likely to tighten their belts as they remain skeptical in the economy.
Despite the ADT’s gloomy forecast, the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) has reported that travel agents’ confidence index during the second quarter has risen to 101, up from 99 reported last year, based on the latest survey.
