A slice of Thai paradise all to yourself 
A slice of Thai paradise all to yourself
Recent airport
demonstrations combined with the economic downturn mean that usually
packed resorts are relatively deserted and there are deals to be found
In
mid-December, I was standing on a white sandy beach on the Thai island
of Koh Samui, getting ready to take a dip in the crystal-clear sea. The
deepest blue sky and gently swaying palms provided the exotic backdrop
to a perfect day, but not everything was as it should be. The beach was
empty.
"We had a very slow December," said Craig Douglas, the
general manager of Sala Samui which, located on Samui's Choeng Mon
beach, is the kind of luxury villa resort that Thailand has become
famous for and which, at this time of year, would normally be packed.
"Occupancy picked up over Christmas and New Year but forward bookings
aren't looking so great. We're putting together some special offers and
should get through OK, but there has definitely been a downturn."
The
effect of the 10-day occupation that hit Bangkok's two main airports
from late-November to early-December is now slowly filtering through
the entire circulatory system of the Thai tourist industry. For each
empty luxury villa, the knock-on is a cleaner laid-off and a farmer who
can't sell his produce. The reality on the ground for the hundreds and
thousands of Thais who work in the nation's huge tourist sector is
stark with some analysts, such as Global Travel Industry News,
predicting that up to one million Thai tourist industry workers could
lose their jobs due to the combined effects of the deep global
recession and the airport occupations. Only time will tell if the
grimmest predictions come true but the immediate consequences have been
serious.
While the airport occupation was in full swing, I was
visiting the popular capital of northern Thailand, Chiang Mai, and the
direct results of the kingdom's political upheavals were immediately
apparent. Reliant almost entirely on connecting flights from Bangkok,
the normally bustling streets were empty, and you could almost sense
the fear. "Because of the wider economic downturn, we've just had one
of the quietest low-seasons on record," said David Unkovich, an
Australian ex-pat who has worked in Chiang Mai's tourist sector for 25
years. "To follow that with a high-season like this will put a lot of
people out of business." The tuk-tuk drivers I spoke to voiced similar
fears: "No tourists come here, many people lose their jobs," said one;
while the Thai concierge at one of Chiang Mai's top hotels told me that
occupancy rates were lower than for a bad day in the quietest part of
the year. "Only about 15% of our rooms have guests," he said. "It's
terrible."
Yet to paint an entirely negative picture would be
inaccurate. While the luxury resorts and five-star hotels have been
hard hit, the best-managed parts of the independent traveller sector
have been robust. Take the popular Mut Mee guesthouse in the
atmospheric Mekong River town of Nong Khai in Thailand's Isaan region,
located far from the usual package tour destinations of Bangkok, Samui
and Phuket. "We had a slight drop during early December when the
airport was closed," says Mut Mee's British owner, Julian Wright, "but
we are now fully booked again. On the days we have availability, we are
filling up easily. Most of our guests - who range from young
backpackers through to middle-aged, middle-income independent
travellers - are pretty fearless and quite comfortable with changing
circumstances."
And it is clear Thailand's political instability
is far from over. The new government of Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva is
dogged by uncertainty. A second wave of demonstrations have taken place
in Bangkok and while another airport occupation seems unlikely, other
factors, such as a 30% devaluation of sterling against the Thai Baht
and a fire at a Bangkok nightclub on New Year's Eve, which resulted in
the deaths of 59 people, including several foreign tourists, are hardly
creating a positive image of Thailand with overseas travellers. Over
the past few weeks, the usually tourist-choked Sukhumvit and Khao San
roads in Bangkok have been appreciably quieter, with some visitors to
the Thai capital reporting an almost eerie atmosphere.
Thailand's
tourist industry is now slowly shaping its reaction to all of these
events. Several of Bangkok's largest five-star hotels reveal that while
almost none have dropped their walk-in prices, UK operators have
started launching some offers. "We are beginning to see an influx of
fantastic deals from both hoteliers and airlines to Thailand," says Ben
Briggs from Travelmood. "For example, we now have a week's beach
holiday in Pattaya from just £549 [which represents a deal of seven
nights for the price of five]."
Trailfinders says it has lots of
deals coming through. For example, you can get seven nights for the
price of four at the five-star Sala Phuket Resort and Spa, for
£1,169pp, representing a saving of £500pp. In addition, Trailfinders is
offering return flights with Thai Airways from London to Phuket for
£528 (inc taxes) - the same price as direct flights from London to
Bangkok, meaning that the internal domestic flights are thrown in free.
Kuoni
is offering savings of up to £3,000 on a six-night holiday in the Six
Senses Destination Spa in Phuket in March - it now comes in at
£2,131pp. And you can get three nights free in the Grand Millennium
Sukhumvit hotel in Bangkok, in May, in a deal which costs £632.
While
UK travel agents and tour operators might be trying to sound upbeat
it's clear that Thailand's best hotels are being hit. "Business levels
have reduced by around 30-40% throughout all major hotels in Phuket,"
says Frank Grassmann, general manager of the Evason Phuket & Six
Senses Spa. "The demonstrations and airport closure in Bangkok came at
a critical time. Many guests redirected their Christmas holidays to
other destinations such as Malaysia but reservations are now starting
to come in again at a slow but steady pace."
Bizarrely, given
all the troubles of the Thai tourism industry, the Thai immigration
service has decided to reduce the number of days of a tourist visa from
30 to 15 for those crossing into Thailand from a neighbouring country â€"
severely hindering Thailand's role as a regional hub for long-stay
tourists visiting neighbouring countries such as Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam.
Yet, Thailand, for all the right reasons â€" excellent
value, stunning locations and friendly people â€" is still likely to
remain popular with British tourists. Choose to visit now and you could
experience the kingdom at its best - the palaces and temples of Bangkok
are relatively deserted. And, if you get to the beach, you could have a
slice of paradise all to yourself.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/jan/06/thailand-winter-sun-deals