Thailand tourism crosses 22m mark for first time

Thailand’s tourist arrivals passed 22 million for the first in 2012, marking an exceptional year for the hotel sector, according to CBRE.

The firm’s latest Bangkok Luxury Hotel MarketView report shows that the number of international passengers disembarking at all AOT-managed airports leapt by 16 per cent in Bangkok compared to 2011. Arrivals also increased by 16 per cent in Phuket year-on-year.

The surge in overseas visitors saw Bangkok hotel performance improve significantly, even with supply of property increasing. Indeed, CBRE predicts that supply will continue to grow, increasing 21 per cent by 2015.

The main worry for the sector is room rates, notes the report, with the Average Daily Rate (ADR) edging up by 0.9 per cent year-on-year, 5 per cent lower than 2009. “Hotels must become more efficient by increasing productivity across all aspects of their operations,” warns the report.

Nonetheless, tourists continue to flock to the country, with Asia driving the increase. China accounted for 12.4 per cent of all arrivals, while Russian and Indian tourists each passed the one million mark.

“This was an exceptional year for the hospitality sector, comments Kulwadee Sawangsri, Executive Director of CBRE Hotels, Thailand. “The stable political landscape in 2012 provided a strong platform for tourism growth. Resord level tourist arrivals pushed up the average occupancy of hotels of all grades from 63.5% in 2011 to 70.6% in 2012 while the overall RevPAR increased by 11.9% Y-o-Y according to STR. “

For more detailed facts and figures, read the full report here.

Take advantage of Thailand’s tourist boom

Browse our listings of Thai property investments:

http://thailand.themovchannel.com/property/all