Thailand hotel rates set to rise

With Thailand's political situation stable, hoteliers plan to hike rates to offset rising costs

 

 

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Thai Hotels Association says Bangkok occupancy rates for the year to date are at 62 percent, up from 52 percent for the same period last year.

 

 

Now that tourists are returning to Thailand in response to perceived political stability, the Thai Hotels Association (THA) says accommodations will likely raise room rates by 8-10 percent next year to offset rising costs.

According to a report in the Bangkok Post, it will be the first time in four years they've hiked rates.
"Normally hotel room rates go up around 5-10 percent on average per year, but political turmoil from 2008 to 2010 caused Thai hoteliers to freeze their room rates to survive," said the report.

In the first seven months of this year, international tourist arrivals to Thailand reportedly rose by 27 percent year-on-year to 12.8 million. Key markets were China, which grew by 68 percent to 1.15 million, Russia was up 78 percent to 619,723, India was up 34 percent to 627,670, South Korea grew 40 percent to 720,510, and Taiwan by 41 percent to 346,548.

The THA projects international tourist arrivals to Thailand will reach 19 million this year, signalling tourism is improving so it's a good time to raise rates.



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