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C9 Hotelworks report predicts rosy days for Pattaya in 2012 with a record of eight million hotel guests.
Every week end, the highway linking Bangkok to Pattaya is getting congested as week-enders rush to leave the capital for the shores of the resort city. Since the opening of the new highway following the completion of Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Pattayais getting closer to Bangkok: it is only a mere 90 minutes away from the city while the airport is just 60 minutes away… Pattaya image is also changing. It is not anymore only for sex and entertainment that tourists rush into the resort. Locals rediscover also Pattaya, especially as new resorts and condominiums in the Northern part are targeting upper- and middle-class families.
C9 Hotelworks, a Phuket-based hospitality consulting firm, recently released a report highlighting that hotels occupancy reached last year 66%.The report stated in 2010 and 2011, occupancy rose consequently by 17 points and 9 points while total visitors’ arrivals to the region doubled in 2010 despite domestic political uncertainties and the world financial crisis. Last year, Pattaya even received a boost during the flooding as many tourists and locals relocated temporarily to the seaside resort to escape the capital assaulted by waters.
C9 Hotelworks predicts now that Pattaya will accommodate a record 8 million hotel guests in 2012, the highest-ever for a Thai resort destination, as improvements in the domestic market and infrastructure boost demand.
Talking to the Bangkok Post, Bill Barnett, managing director of the Phuket-based firm, attributed Pattaya’s rise to solid infrastructure, a strengthening domestic market, international brands and changing perceptions of the city. “If you visit Pattaya, you’re sitting next to the country’s capital with an established tourism market. It’s the yin to Bangkok’s yang,” he said. Infrastructure is the most important factor, said Mr Barnett. Low-cost flights, improved toll roads to the area and the development of branded hotels have turn Pattaya into an ideal weekend getaway for Thais, who account for a quarter of the market there.
But not only is the domestic market on the move. They are more and more foreigners coming to Pattaya, especially the ones from Russia and China who prefer to arrive with charter flights directly at nearby U-Taopao airport. The Civil Aviation reports that traffic at U-Tapao grew by almost 40%. Chinese and together account now for a third of all arrivals. Mr Barnett expects further impulses from the opening of the themed water park Cartoon Network Amazon in 2013.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
