Thai tourism bodies forecast 10-15% decline due to unrest

Thai Hotels Association (THA) President Prakit Chinamourphong forecast tourist arrivals and tourism revenue in the country would drop by 10-15% year-on-year for 2010 (The Nation, 01-Dec-2010). Mr Chinamourphong stated the decline is mostly due to Thailand's political instability earlier this year. He added foreign tourist arrivals should recover to a high in 2011, provided there is no political tension. The country is expecting high growth rates from Japanese, Chinese and Russian tourists in particular. Growth is expected to mainly occur in Phuket, due to a growing number of airlines launching operations to the island. Tourist growth to Bangkok is expected to be flat. Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) also forecast tourist arrivals will total 12 million this year, lower than the 14.5 million target.