More than 5,400 room nights were cancelled or postponed between Sept 27 and Oct 4 nationwide, according to the Thai Hotels Association (THA), due to severe floods in Bangkok and the central and eastern regions, resulting in weak tourism confidence.
The THA surveyed its hotel members on the flooding impact, which reported 5,433 room nights were cancelled or postponed, including among 35 hotels in Bangkok and 10 hotels in Chon Buri.
Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, the THA president, said hotel operators are worried about a slowdown in new bookings in the coming weeks as the high season approaches.
Sluggish demand stems from weak confidence following the floods. The situation was exacerbated by Thai Airways’ mismanagement, creating a baggage backlog and flight disruptions that still have not been fully resolved.
In Bangkok and Chon Buri, 1,389 and 875 room nights were cancelled or postponed, respectively, between Sept 27-29. These two provinces reported cancellations or postponements for Sept 28-Oct 4 totalling 651 and 353 room nights, respectively.
However, the association noted these numbers might also include cancellations for other reasons, due to flexible booking policies among online travel agents.
“The fourth quarter may be weaker than last year due to the recent flood and high airfares resulting from the Middle East conflict,” he said.
“Those who haven’t booked their trips yet could delay visiting Thailand or choose other destinations.”
Mr Thienprasit said the first priority to mitigate the flood impact is to restore the national carrier’s operations to normal as soon as possible.
The government should also consider reducing the cost burden for hotel operators, possibly through tax reductions, and postpone the plan to collect the 450-baht foreign tourist fee as it could worsen travel confidence, he said.
Watcharapong Khunpluem, presi-dent of the THA’s eastern chapter, said hotels in the eastern region, including Chon Buri, Rayong and Chanthaburi, reported roughly 50% room cancellations since last week, affecting both leisure tourists and meeting groups.
Hotels are offering guests the option of postponing their trips without an additional fee.
Mr Watcharapong said many hotels in Rayong and Chanthaburi are unable to resume operations as the main roads remained inundated.
In Bang Saen, the motorways to Chon Buri are accessible, but hotels cannot fully operate because some rooms need to be renovated following flood damage.
He said although new bookings are returning for this weekend, driven by the school holidays, hotels are unable to sell all of their rooms.
In October, the average occupancy rate may drop by 5-10% year-on-year, despite expectations of a rise in foreign tourist numbers, as many locals hesitate to spend on travel, said Mr Watcharapong.