Tourism revenue hits record low across all 77 provinces in Thailand

Tourism revenue has plummeted across each of the 77 provinces, according to data from Thailand’s tourism ministry. The Bangkok Post reports that income from both foreign and local tourism reached an historic low in 2021, dropping by nearly 70%. Meanwhile, the revenue gap between Bangkok and other major provinces remains wide.

In 2021, Bangkok posted the highest revenue at 62.7 billion baht, a drop of more than 75%. Chiang Mai came in in second place, reporting revenue of 23.3 billion baht, a drop of over 53%. The southern island of Phuket was in third place, with revenue of over 21 billion baht, equating to a drop of over 80%. According to the Bangkok Post report, the provinces of Nong Bua Lam Phu, Amnat Charoen, and Samut Sakhon were all at the bottom of the pile, with the lowest tourism income of 58.24 million baht, 139.6 million baht, and 142.2 million baht, respectively.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s hotels remain concerned about the ongoing financial effects of Covid-19. The Thai Hotels Association surveyed 200 members across the country between January 10 and 26, with 49% of operators reporting revenue of less than 30% of pre-pandemic levels. The temporary suspension of the Test & Go entry scheme saw average occupancy in January drop to 32%, from December’s 37%. THA boss Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi says half the hotels surveyed say they had less income in January compared to December, while 53% only had enough cash flow to run for less than 3 months.

“Three-quarters of hotels were uneasy about the Omicron threat as 42% of them were deeply concerned about the situation and 44% were moderately worried about the latest outbreak, particularly hotels in the North which recorded a high number of cases.”

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According to Marisa, hotels have been affected both by domestic tourists not wanting to leave home and international guests unable to travel due to the temporary suspension of Test & Go.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post