Nearly two thirds of Thai hotels make losses after two years of Covid-19 restrictions
A whopping 63 per cent of hotels in Thailand still recorded losses in February 2022, a result of ongoing restrictions after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and a slow recovery of tourism arrival numbers.
The latter is mainly owing to the country’s unpopular “Test & Go” entry scheme requiring loads of paperwork and additional expenses from potential tourists.
Average hotel occupancy lingered below 30 per cent, according to the “hotel business operator sentiment index” for February issued by the Thai Hotels Association.
Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, the association’s president, said that a 30-per cent occupancy rate should be sufficient to break even for most of the hotels, but only 37 per cent of them achieved that target in the month.
“Even though the Test & Go scheme has resumed, local tourists were still the majority of our customers. Almost half of 127 hoteliers who took the survey said international guests made up less than ten percent of their bookings,” Nunbhakdi said.
Unpopular “Test & Go” scheme
The weak number of tourists was mainly attributed to deterring travel rules, particularly for RT-PCR testing for Covid-19 and the complicated, sometimes faulty “Thailand Pass” registration for the Test & Go scheme, she noted.
Moreover, about 51 per cent of the survey respondents cited lower liquidity in February as compared to the previous month, and 45 per cent said their remaining liquidity was just enough for less than three months as room prices remained low amid fierce competition on the tourism market.
Only 19 per cent of the hotels are now earning half of the revenue they earned before the Covid-19 crisis hit Thailand’s tourism industry, Nunbhakdi said, adding that these hotels reported about 40 per cent occupancy last month.
Only 59.8 per cent of the hotel workforce returned to the industry
Employment in the sector has also been hit hard. The employment rate dropped to 59.8 per cent as most hotels refrained from hiring more permanent staff and preferred to maintain the same salary levels or opt for part-time workers instead. Only 11 per cent of hotels increased wages to keep existing employees or recruited new workers, the study showed.
Three per cent of hotels in Thailand were still closed for more than six months this February.
[caption id="attachment_38284" align="alignleft" width="300"] Thailand's hotels remain largely void of foreign tourists due to complicated and expensive Covid-19 entry regulations[/caption] A whopping 63 per cent of hotels in Thailand still recorded losses in February 2022, a result of ongoing restrictions after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and a slow recovery of tourism arrival numbers. The latter is mainly owing to the country’s unpopular “Test & Go” entry scheme requiring loads of paperwork and additional expenses from potential tourists. Average hotel occupancy lingered below 30 per cent, according to the "hotel business operator sentiment index" for February issued by the...
A whopping 63 per cent of hotels in Thailand still recorded losses in February 2022, a result of ongoing restrictions after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and a slow recovery of tourism arrival numbers.
The latter is mainly owing to the country’s unpopular “Test & Go” entry scheme requiring loads of paperwork and additional expenses from potential tourists.
Average hotel occupancy lingered below 30 per cent, according to the “hotel business operator sentiment index” for February issued by the Thai Hotels Association.
Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, the association’s president, said that a 30-per cent occupancy rate should be sufficient to break even for most of the hotels, but only 37 per cent of them achieved that target in the month.
“Even though the Test & Go scheme has resumed, local tourists were still the majority of our customers. Almost half of 127 hoteliers who took the survey said international guests made up less than ten percent of their bookings,” Nunbhakdi said.
Unpopular “Test & Go” scheme
The weak number of tourists was mainly attributed to deterring travel rules, particularly for RT-PCR testing for Covid-19 and the complicated, sometimes faulty “Thailand Pass” registration for the Test & Go scheme, she noted.
Moreover, about 51 per cent of the survey respondents cited lower liquidity in February as compared to the previous month, and 45 per cent said their remaining liquidity was just enough for less than three months as room prices remained low amid fierce competition on the tourism market.
Only 19 per cent of the hotels are now earning half of the revenue they earned before the Covid-19 crisis hit Thailand’s tourism industry, Nunbhakdi said, adding that these hotels reported about 40 per cent occupancy last month.
Only 59.8 per cent of the hotel workforce returned to the industry
Employment in the sector has also been hit hard. The employment rate dropped to 59.8 per cent as most hotels refrained from hiring more permanent staff and preferred to maintain the same salary levels or opt for part-time workers instead. Only 11 per cent of hotels increased wages to keep existing employees or recruited new workers, the study showed.
Three per cent of hotels in Thailand were still closed for more than six months this February.
