Bangkok, Thailand, June 20, 2020 / TRAVELINDEX / The recovery of Thai domestic tourism was the focus of today's virtual online event "TTF2020 - Special Bangkok Edition", which was attended by more than 1,000 leading national and international participants from the travel and hotel industry.

A study by hotel consultancy C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications focused on Thailand's domestic travel market, which saw over 227 million visitors in 2019 compared to 39.8 million international visitors. This provided insightful information on the high demand from local travelers, who are now being specifically targeted by Thai hotels and tourism businesses.

A market research study conducted by C9 and Delivering Asia in Bangkok over the weekend surveyed numerous residents of the greater Bangkok area – over 15 million people in the extended metropolitan region – who expressed a clear preference for less densely populated, more pristine destinations in the provinces. The islands of Koh Chang and Koh Kood, as well as the mountainous regions of Phetchabun, Nan, Pai, and Mae Sot, were most frequently mentioned.

In a key segment of the event hosted by global hotel analysis company STR, which focused on the capital city of Bangkok, Jesper Palmqvist, Area Director – Asia Pacific, stated: “As the economic engine of Thailand, Bangkok must lead by example after the crisis and promote and support the existing domestic business. This will change the definition of ‘acceptable performance levels’ in the hotel industry.”

Regarding the future of hotels, Palmqvist added: “Forget about getting back to 2019 levels so quickly. Instead, focus on redefining acceptable occupancy rates for hotels. There’s a strong case to be made that either budget and mid-range hotels or luxury hotels will fare better. But given the foreseeable cost-cutting measures by travelers, the question remains: Which hotel category will pave the fastest path to a long-term recovery?”

Bill Barnett, Managing Director of C9, summarized the key takeaways from TTF2020 – Special Bangkok Edition: “International tourism remains in a dynamic process, heavily dependent on bilateral agreements and the resumption of air travel. In the short term, hotels are focused on generating revenue. The number of travelers to Thailand is expected to increase significantly for the remainder of 2020. The industry must therefore find new avenues as the recovery progresses.”

The impressive speakers at the event, organized by C9 Hotelworks and the American Chamber of Commerce Thailand, included Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO of Centara Hotels and Resorts, as well as key executives from JLL, Horwath HTL, QUO, TSI, STR, Agoda, IHG, HotelIntel and Rosewood Bangkok.