Thailand expects at least 25 million foreign tourists to visit in 2023 after more than 8 million foreign visitors visited the country in the first four months of this year. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is urging entrepreneurs in the tourism business not to engage in a "price war" but to take advantage of the consumer demand accumulated by foreign tourists, which arose as a result of restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.
Businesses such as Asset World Corp Plc (AWC) believe that tourism prospects in the country are optimistic at the moment, especially for premium hotels located in major tourist destinations such as Bangkok and Phuket. The average room occupancy is around 80% despite double room rates compared to pre-pandemic rates. In addition, the return of Chinese tourists to the city of Chiang Mai should speed up the relatively slow recovery of premium hotel business in the region.
However, not all hotels can afford to raise room rates. According to a survey conducted in March by the Thai Hotel Association (THA) and the Bank of Thailand, only 74% of hotels with a rating of 5 stars or higher were able to increase room prices above pre-pandemic levels. For hotels rated below 4 stars, the possibility of price increases was less - only 34% of such hotels were able to increase prices to pre-crisis levels. While only 26% of hotels rated below 3 stars were able to raise prices.
