Day trips more likely than longer stays over long weekend: TAT
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects Thais to make 2.6 million domestic trips during the National Mother’s Day long weekend (August 12-14) and spend around 8.76 billion baht, a drop of 4% and 5% respectively compared to the same period last year.
The reduced travel and lower spending are due to the impact of inflation and unfavourable weather conditions during the rainy season, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said on Wednesday.
Furthermore, most Thais made trips over the 6-day holiday in late July that marked His Majesty the King’s Birthday and Asanha Bucha Day, he added.
Thais celebrate National Mother’s Day on August 12, the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother.
Yuthasak added that due to the shorter holiday period, most Thais would likely make day trips to nearby destinations this weekend resulting in lower spending on hotel accommodation.
TAT’s estimation is in line with a recent survey of the Tourism Council of Thailand on travel plans for the Mother’s Day weekend, in which 23% of respondents said they would travel within their province, and another 20% said they would go to nearby provinces without spending the night.
21% of respondents said they would spend the night in other provinces, and 23% said they had yet to decide.
TAT also reported that Bangkok was the most popular domestic destination during the long holidays of July 28-August 2. Thais made over 600,000 trips to the capital and spent around 3.13 billion baht on tourism-related businesses.
The eastern region was the second most visited place during the same period, with 367,190 visitors and 1.34-billion-baht in tourism revenue. In third place was the northern region with 290,350 visitors and 1.11 billion baht in revenue.
