Most Asean destinations, including Thailand, increased the prices of their travel packages by 8 to 17 per cent at this year's International Tourism Bourse (ITB), which was held in Berlin last week.
Regional market leader Thailand plus Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia are hoping to cash in on the global economic recovery by raising hotel room rates and offering more package deals.
International hotel chains such as Shangri-la and Banyan Tree as well as small Thai operators are confident that they will not be losing existing markets by increasing their prices, but will in fact draw new visitors to the region.
This is the first time regional travel operators have dared raise their prices since the global economic meltdown began in 2008.
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Prakit Chinamourphong, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), said the 130 Thai hotels and tourism operators taking part in the ITB were delighted with the business deals they garnered.
"Most operators were also able to increase the number of packages planned for the next season," Prakit said, adding that most hotels increased their rates by 8 to 10 per cent on average. Small hotels such as Siam@Siam, which claims to be one of the best boutique hotels in Thailand, increased their rates by as much as 17 per cent.
However, this time operators chose to make six- or nine-month deals because they say tourist behaviour is changing and people prefer to book rooms just before heading off on holiday.
"At the ITB, operators found the European market was not concerned about the unrest in Thailand because they know the problem was not related to tourists and are confident about their safety," Prakit said. He added that if the political turmoil does not get worse, the tourism sector should maintain positive growth in the second and third quarters.
Wichit na Ranong, former president of the THA, believes the hotel business should rebound because more travellers are likely to return to Thailand, especially to the islands in the South.
Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said since tourists were not being targeted by the red shirts, foreign travel agents could confidently sell travel packages to the Kingdom.
In January, tourism grew by 20 per cent compared to same time last year, and the growth was maintained at the same level in February.
Prakit said 100 chartered flights from China were coming to Thailand next month, though if things got violent with the red shirts, the country would lose out on a good opportunity.
"Last year, the hotel business dropped by 15 per cent, but should grow by 10 to 15 per cent this year," he said.
Surapol Sritrakul, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said Thailand should achieve its target of 15 million arrivals if the political problems did not persist.
Kongkrit Hiranyakit, chairman of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said foreign tourists were more confident about their safety in Thailand because Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiya had promised that this time the airport would not be shut down.
Kongkrit also predicted significant growth in the tourism sector this year.
