News - Tourism

Tourist and business travellers are getting scarcer than ever according to The Nation.

This morning they are reporting on a number of big, well-known hotels in Bangkok closing. It seems they are asking staff to take leave as occupancy numbers have decreased from the 'low season' 50% to as little as 2%! The main reason being given is the potential for trouble from the protesters.

Certainly the Songkran numbers were lower than last year, here in Pattaya. The reason here for low numbers is more a combination of poor exchange rates, increasing jobless rates and the volcanic ash which has seriously affected arrivals from Europe.

As I write this, we are one guest short as a direct result of no in-coming aircraft. I am currently waiting for news from another soon-to-arrive guests. The up side, if there is one, is that we have a guest staying longer as there are no Europe-bound aircraft either.

Having had a chat with some guests whose flights to Europe were cancelled, it looks like it will take somewhere between 1 - 2 weeks to clear the backlog! Still, better to be stuck here rather than not being able to get here! If your flight has been cancelled then you join the queue and get booked on the next available flight!