jp1 Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 Just traveled last week from Tokyo to Hong Kong and one day later from HKG to Bangkok. Used Cathay Pacific on the first leg and TG on the other leg and back home. All 3 flights used were filled far less than half in both, business and economy class. The effect of the scary pneumonia disease in HKG as well as the start of the Iraq war is clearly visible. In HKG I stayed at the ?Renaissance Harbor View? Hotel which is usually always heavily booked but this time it seemed that the hotel was almost empty. I also got a far better rate than ever before. At Chek Lap Kok airport the same picture, not the big crowd of passengers which one normally expects at this airport. Many people wearing ?gaze? mask to protect themselves against the deadly virus. Then again at BKK airport, upon arrival only a few passengers were waiting at the immigration counters, the arrival lobby was almost empty. When I departed yesterday morning I was surprised to board an almost empty TG flight back home to Tokyo. I?m just wondering how long airlines will maintain their present schedules before taking out some flights from their networks. If this trend continues, and I?m sure it will for some time to come, the tourist industry will suffer in a big way. Just remember that I read something in the Bangkok Post or the Nation about an expected drop of foreign visitors to Thailand to the extend of 1/3 compared to the previous year. Maybe for those who are not afraid to travel it?s the right time to ask the travel offices/airlines/ hotels for big discounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racha Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 People are avoiding Hong Kong for obvious reasons, Thailand tourist numbers are still up from last year but the percentage increase is down from the projected figures, So there are still more tourists arriving here than last year so far, Unless something crazy happens with bombings of planes or airports around the corner everything will be fine in LOS for tourism. My company handles hundreds of bookings every week and there has not been one cancellation because of the war going on, A lot of people where asking about the flu virus when the news first came out and that could of been a problem had it been in LOS or got out of control, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted March 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 Racha, the article which I mentioned was in yesterdays business edition of the 'Bangkok Post'. Here's the link: http://www.bangkokpost.com/210303_Business/21Mar2003_biz68.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 are you sure about that? was in phuket last weekend and it had far less people then usual during high season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 Would you be able to provide the online source of your statistics? Or more to the point, do you know if the in-bounds include returning Thai nationals? In a fearful world climate the number of persons repatriating might exceed the number of foreigners postponing travel. Some countries in the Middle East are seeing a wholesale flight of guest workers: Indians, Bangladeshis and some Filipinos. I'm curious about the number of Thais leaving the region but there's little solid information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racha Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 Phuket is never real busy at this time of the year, Phuket is still getting plenty of tourists going through there but not staying there, Phuket is losing tourists to the surrounding islands and places like Khao Lak, Phang Na, Trang, Krabbi etc , it is the tail end of the high season now and most of the big tour operators from Europe pack up and leave at the end of March, The TAT have told me the numbers for Thailand are ok over all, though not the big percentage gains they had forecast, The numbers will be out soon and we shall know then exactly what the score is, If there has to be a war the timing is perfect for it will not hurt tourism so much here as its coming to the quietest few months of the season now, if it happened in Dec or Jan it would of been very devastating, When the last gulf war started right in the middle of the peak season Phuket emptied out over night I do remember that, I can not speak for every one but as I mentioned my company has not had one cancellation so far though that could easily change if something takes a turn for the worse, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 Traffic must be down a lot. Just booked a United round trip ticket from San Diego to Bangkok for mid April for $588 usd. Haven't seen prices this low in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racha Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 From the USA I do not doubt traffic is down a lot at the moment, Americans are a very small percentage of the tourist market here by the way, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovineye Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 Says racha: Americans are a very small percentage of the tourist market here by the way, Quality, not quantity! :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2003 Report Share Posted March 22, 2003 Hopefully it will remain empty in July too. Cheap prices for flights and hotels, all the gals for me ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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