Council sights on target

BANGKOK, 5 September 2012: The Tourism Council of Thailand says a Bt2 trillion tourism revenue target for 2015 is achievable, but it will require more support from the government.

TCT president Piyaman Tejapaibul yesterday expressed confidence that the government’s annual revenue target of Bt2 trillion-revenue was reachable.

“The government has shown a willingness to drive policies in an integrated manner and with Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, as the chairperson of a tourism workshop she can call on support from  non-tourism agencies, such as the Royal Thai Police, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior. There is an opportunity to solve problems,” the TCT president said.

“At first, it seemed like daydreaming ( Bt2 trillion target) but after we have been working together, we have seen positive signs that is achievable.”

The target of Bt2 trillion tourism revenue in 2015 breaks down into Bt1.45 trillion from international tourists and Bt5.5 billion from domestic tourists. The projected international arrivals are 26.16 million and domestic, 114.3 million trips.

TCT said that the domestic goal for revenue expands from Bt430 billion in 2011 to Bt550 billion in 2015, a growth of 6.35% and the council says it is a feasible target.

However the growth revenue from international tourists should grow from Bt780 billion to Bt1.45 trillion or an average of 16.8% per year  and that was challenging.

Daily spending per person should grow from Bt4,187 in 2011 to Bt5,310 in 2015, but that will largely depend on economic factors beyond Thailand’s borders and whether international tourists will  continue to have that kind of spending power.

However, statistics for 2000 to 2011 showed that, while arrivals to Thailand could double the numbers (+101%), daily spending per person grew by a very a minimall 6%.

In order to increase daily spending, hotel room rates must rise substantially and there are few positive indicators that market forces are in place. From the Tourism Department’s data, accommodation accounts for 30% of the total revenue earned by the tourism industry.

Thai Hotels Association chairwoman of marketing, Supawan Tanomkieatipume, said hotels had driven the rates down well below the product’s quality and there was an oversupply of rooms as well as  non-registered establishments that operate at lower costs. As long as free market forces prevail, investors will build hotels and cut rates to gain market share at the expense of older properties.

Internal political unrest over the past five years also forced hotels to slash prices to lure customers to the country.

“Usually rates increase by 10% to 12% annually, but that has not been possible in the last five years. To get back on track hotels need to increase rates by around 10% this year followed by 15% to 18% in the following years,” said Ms Supawan.

THA will also push for the enforcement of hotel standards and licensing as well as hotel zoning especially at tourism destinations facing an oversupply of rooms.

Safety standards and security issues such as scams, illegal taxis and violent crime against tourists are also identified as important factors that the government must address.

These threats are viewed by ambassadors from European Union who met with the Minister of Sports and Tourism earlier this year as more damaging to tourism that the threat of terrorism.

TCT vice president, development, Thanate Vorasaran, talked about human resource development that will lift standard of services of the industry.

“We are working with the Ministry of Labour on standards for 100 positions in the tourism industry. There are only 32 positions covering hotels and tour operators that will come under ASEAN standards, but the industry also includes restaurants, transport and souvenirs,” Mr Thanate said.

The target is to train 100,000 staff each year, from 2013 to 2015, as a pilot project to show training and certification is worthwhile for their career and business. Then, people would be interested and invest in training.

TCT vice president, marketing, Pornthip Hirankate, added that Thailand should also look for opportunity in emerging markets such as South America and South Africa where the economies are expanding, while maintaining business from traditional markets.

Tourism Authority of Thailand should organize fam trips to lesser known tourist attractions in the country to offer alternatives to the developed destinations, which also could help increase length of stay.

Thailand has a very high 60% repeat visitor level, but the challenge is to build more attractions and ensure the appeal of the country is not diluted or damaged as that would impact on the repeat visit ratio.

The tourism boom in neighbouring countries should not be viewed as a threat for Thailand, Ms Pornthip said.

“We should take this as opportunity to sell combined programmes because Thailand is still a convenient gateway and we still offer better facilities in our hubs that tourists want when exploring new destinations.”

In terms of attractions, the Department of Tourism has a rehabilitation plan for 100 tourist attractions nationwide with 29 places identified for urgent attention before the end of 2013.

However, a proposed mega tourism projects – ASEAN Theme Park and Elephant World — still awaits government support.

Sourced: ttrweekly