Forex Has Little Effect on Inbound Tourism

The decline in global currencies against US Dollar doesn’t have a major effect on the Kingdom’s inbound tourism since the rates were similar to Thai Baht and most foreign tourist arrivals are high-income earners.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said that currency depreciation has little effect on the tourism sector since travelers prefer to make judgments based on their expectations in the country instead of the currency exchange.

Due to the rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, the value of the US dollar continued to be strong against other currencies such as the Thai baht, the British pound, and the Indian rupee.

The TAT governor said that the weak baht might attract visitors with US dollars and increase their spending in Thailand.

Mr. Suksit Suvunditkul, president of the southern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association (THA) believes that there’s nothing to worry about since most currencies are weakening against the US Dollar.

According to him, the current situation can’t be compared to Russia’s financial crisis in 2014, when hotels lost a lot of Russian tourists and were forced to reduce accommodation prices for the Russian market as the ruble’s value dropped sharply.

Mr. Suksit said that a study conducted by the THA’s southern chapter revealed an average occupancy rate of above 30% in Krabi, Phangnga, and Trang.

Currently, the average occupancy rate in Hat Yai increased to 60-70 percent due to Malaysian visitors.

Mr. Suksit said that 4-star and 5-star hotels reported impressive numbers as they raised room prices to the same level as in 2019; this was mostly due to the spending power of their clients.

This market is not affected by the global economy and is able to travel globally despite inflation and high airfare ticket costs.

However, mid-scale hotels and accommodations in the country still need to offer discounts of up to 30% to keep their business afloat.

As of September 25, Thailand welcomed 5.7 million foreign tourists.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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