"We have announced 50 percent discount on our room rates and have also started offering flood relief lunch and dinner packages at 288 baht (Rs 735) per person per day after the number of guests declined massively," said Sumi Chai, an assistant at Furuma Silom Hotel in Bangkok. [break]
Like Furuma Silom, other hotels in the Thai capital are also slashing their room rates and offering packages at reduced rates. Yet very few people are grabbing such offers as many fear getting stranded in floods during their vacation. Thailand attracts over 15 million foreign visitors every year.
A Thai English language newspaper recently quoted Vice President of Tourism Council of Thailand Kongkrit Hiranyakit as saying tourist arrivals may drop by 15-20 percent, or 75,000 to 1 million, this quarter.
Like many international tourists, Nepali outbound tourists -- for whom Thailand has become one of the best tourist destinations -- are also cancelling their trips to the southeast Asian country.
Ace Travels, which sends 40-42 percent of its total outbound clients to Thailand, said at least 40 groups planning to visit Thailand have changed their travel plans so far.
“We have asked these clients to make a trip to India or Dubai,” Sushil Baniya of Ace Travels told Republica.
He also said cheap packages offered by Thai hotels are not likely to encourage Nepalis to visit the flood-hit country as they don´t want to take the risk and spoil their vacation.
Prajita Satyal of Marco Polo Travels, which also designs package trips to Thailand, also echoed the same views as Baniya. She said, “Such offers will not attract visitors as tourists prefer to visit safer destinations.”
Although there is no official data on the number of Nepalis visiting Thailand every year, each of the 12 major travel agencies operating in the country send around 100-150 outbound tourists every season to Thailand.
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