Pattaya hotels enjoyed a welcome respite from closed floors and empty lobbies as domestic tourists flocked to the city for the long holiday weekend.
A week earlier, some downtown hotels were reporting occupancy rates of less than 5 percent. Then, over the Sept. 4-7 weekend, The Zign Hotel, Amari Pattaya, Pattaya Hilton and other major resorts were near full as Thais and expats descended on the city for the replacement Songkran holidays.
Traffic, as expected, was jammed but Pattaya residents and business owners weren’t complaining, as they knew the boom days would end quickly, leaving Pattaya mired in a deep economic depression.
Sanphet Suphabuansathien, advisor to the Thai Hotels Association Eastern Chapter and an executive with the Anchaleewiwat hotel group, said many people also came to town for the Pattaya Travel Mart, which matched tourism industry businesses with tour operators and corporate travel buyers.
The event was held at The Zign, which reported 90 percent occupancy.
Pattaya tourism advisor Rattanachai Sutidechanai said the city also hopes to start attracting a larger number of Thai business meetings and conventions to keep business up between holidays.
