BANGKOK, 10 February 2014 The Association of Domestic Travel (ADT) estimates that a less-than-usual number of merit-making tours will be seen during the upcoming Makha Bucha holiday due partly to the political situation.
Ahead of this year’s Makha Bucha holiday from February 14-16, ADT President Yutthachai Soonthornrattanavate admitted that less merit makers would likely join tour groups to embark on their charitable excursions, owing to the ongoing political turmoil. He added that holidaymakers nowadays also prefer to travel by themselves, rather than in groups.
It is expected that around 200-300 tour buses will be reserved for merit-making purposes nationwide for the 3-day holiday, as opposed to 500 buses during the same period of previous years, while less than 100 million baht might be circulated.
Mr Yutthachai voiced agreement with the Tourism Authority Thailand (TAT) on its suggestion for tourism operators to slow down their PR activities until the political situation improves. According to the TAT, each tour agency should spend only 70% of its PR budget on maintaining or boosting the business in the short term. The other 30% should be set aside for long-term PR campaigns, especially after normalcy has been restored in the country.
