Hoteliers are projecting a lukewarm tourism outlook

Despite the government's reopening plan for international arrivals, hoteliers are projecting a lukewarm tourism outlook while preparing their businesses amid uncertainty.

Phuket's tourism sandbox in July, according to Charintip Tiyaphorn, financial controller at Pimalai Resort and Spa, will allow operators to plan in terms of business, yet tourism demand in the early stages will not be sufficient to benefit areas nearby if international flights to Phuket are not able to completely resume.

The hotel is working with agents who already have customers to arrange chartered flights.

Pimalai is targeting niche markets such as weddings, which normally make booking 12 months in advance and pay a deposit.

As the third quarter is the low season for the provinces along the Andaman coast, Ms Charintip said the Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) domestic subsidy scheme should be extended till the end of the year.

Domestic guests using the benefits earned the hotel 30 million baht in the second phase of the subsidy program.

"The second wave pushed the occupancy rate down to 7% in January, the lowest performance since the hotel has operated," Ms Charintip said.

"If the latest wave impacts us again, we'll have to look for soft loans or bank loans to pay the salaries."

She realises that the government needs to strike a balance between healthcare crisis management and the economy.

Meanwhile, Nantanittaya Sesaweech, assistant managing director at Horizon Village and Resort, said Chiang Mai is a pilot area scheduled to receive vaccinated tourists without quarantine by October, but locals have yet to acknowledge clear vaccination plans.

The hotel is projecting a recovery in 2023 when the Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) market is expected to resume.

Prior to the pandemic, the Mice market revenue accounted for nearly 90% of the hotel's total revenue.

Given the highly volatile situation of pandemic situation, the hotel must adapt its operations on a daily basis while carefully managing its cash flow to withstand what it expects to be a three-year weak stretch, Ms Nantanittaya said.