Thai Tourism Reported Safe from Local, Global Tensions
The Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thai Hotels Association are confident that the number of tourists visiting Thailand this year will hit the target of 16.5 million as long as there is no more violence.
They say the political rallies in the country and the Middle East have yet to affect the Thai tourism.
Tourism Authority of Thailand, or TAT, Governor Surapol Sawetseranee, stated that the spreading unrest in the Middle East has yet to affect the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand.
The number of tourist arrivals in January and February this year increased by seven and ten percent respectively compared to the same period last year.
Surapol further said the increase in the number of foreign tourists also propped up occupancy rates for hotels, which show expected continuation in the number of visits by foreign tourists until April.
He added that since the unrest sweeping the Arab world in early January, tourists from Europe have been changing their travel plans and Asia, especially Thailand, has been one of the main destinations.
Thai Hotels Association chairman Prakij Chinamornpong said during the first two months of this year, hotels in Bangkok saw 80 to 90 percent reservations and the rate was 70 percent in the provinces.
Prakij noted that the Thai tourism industry has recovered quickly from local political unrest in the first half of last year.
He expressed confidence that the number of foreign tourists coming to Thailand this year will reach 16.5 million as predicted.
He hoped that local political rallies will be peaceful and not lead to chaos.
The TAT has recently collaborated with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, the Thai Hotels Association and the Association for the Development of Environmental Quality, to launch a program called Green Leaf Hotel to raise awareness of Thailand's tourism industry in promoting environmental quality and preservation.
The Green Leaf Program is virtually created to certify those hotels according to the level of their efficiency in managing energy, environment and other natural resources.
Currently, there are more than 700 hotels being members of the Green Leaf Foundation.
After joining the program, they all reported a drop in production cost, such as 10-percent decrease in electricity bill, and received a good response from foreign tourists.
-- Tan Network 2011-03-02
Credit: Thai Visa (www.thaivisa.com)
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