Thailand tourism operators promoting bargain prices

Tourism officials and travel operators in Thailand are saying that visitors should expect to see a range in bargains over the coming months as the country tries to salvage the remainder of its peak tourism season.

Anti-government demonstrators shut Bangkok’s two main airports for over a week, stranding hundreds of thousands of visitors and costing the as much as $3.7 billion. It has also been estimated that as many as 2.3 million tourists may cancel their plans to visit Thailand

The president of the Thai Hotels Association, Prakit Chinamourpong, has said that the current economic turmoil is worse than that caused by the 2004 tsunami, which devastated a number of Thai resorts.

“We already have … hotel occupancies down from a usual high-season 90 percent to a mere 10 percent to 15 percent. Layoffs, or, in many cases, shorter working hours, have already been introduced,” said the owner of DTC Travel, Tom Bishop.

As the country known as the “Land of Smiles” struggles to recover from political chaos, Bishop and other travel operators are saying that there are some discounts to be had. The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phornsiri Manoharn, has also announced a new promotional campaign.

Some deals that have recently appeared on tourismthailand.org include free second or third nights at resort hotels, such as the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya and the Banburee Resort on Koh Samui. In addition, special fares offered by carriers such as Bangkok Airways are posted on the website.

Thanks to www.newsday.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.thaihotels.org