Area hotel executives are betting on three summer promotions to prop up tourism in Pattaya.
At a March 17 meeting of the Thai Hotels Association Eastern Region, President Sanphet Suphabuansathien said the Thailand Splash and Spice restaurant promotion running through May 31, the July 1-Sept. 30 Amazing Thailand Grand Sale, and ongoing 365 Days promotion for Thais will be key to low-season business.
The Amazing Thailand Grand Sale is organized in Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hua Hin and Udon Thani, but has only shown strong results in the first three cities.
TAT Pattaya Director Suladda Sarutilavan (left) and THA Eastern Chapter President Sanphet Suphabuansathien (right) report on the current tourism situation of Thailand.
This year’s sale starts two weeks earlier to compete directly against similar promotions in Hong Kong and Singapore, he said.
TAT Pattaya Director Suladda Sarutilavan said international tourist arrivals in Thailand last year missed expectations, but the fourth quarter showed improvement.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry said January international tourist arrivals jumped 16.3 percent year-on-year, with 2.65 million arrivals, up from 2.28 million in January 2014.
Worryingly for Pattaya, however, Russian arrivals plummeted 46 percent due to the historic slide of the ruble. Only 145,605 Russians came to Thailand in January, down from 269,479 in the same month last year.
To address the problems, TAT’s Pattaya office will be participating in trade shows targeting Eastern Europeans, Indonesia, Scandinavia, China, India, and Germany.
