During the Covid-19 pandemic, many hotels had an impact, referred to in a province of Thailand, Chiang Mai.
Quoted from page The Thaiger, the article in December 2020 then only 1.000 hotels that stay open with offers 20 thousand to 30 thousand rooms.
These hotels in Chiang Mai were forced to reduce their rates by up to 90% to attract more domestic tourists.
As La-Iad Bungsrithong says, from the northern part of the Thai Hotel Association that tourists love this month's south coast destination. Hotel operators in the northern part of the country are preparing low season that will come.
La-Iad said the traditional target market, like China, currently prohibited because their government restricts citizens traveling abroad.
“Meski distribusi vaksin sudah dimulai secara global, Chiang Mai's target market, such as China, is still unable to do so outbound trip. Operators have to rely on the domestic market all year round,” ujar La-Iad.
Then, how do they make money?
La-Iad added that his place of work as General Manager at RatiLanna Riverside Spa Resort had cut room rates to a minimum 1.500 bath per night, compared to normal rates before this pandemic, that is 13.000 bath. Even hotels in Thailand are being forced to find new ways to make money.
Around 30 hotel, all four and five star properties now offer food service “drive-thru”. Not only that, The hotel operator also asked the Thai Tourism Authority office in Chiang Mai to provide a coupon 500 bath to provincial visitors to exchange at the hotel restaurant.
La-Iad also said the authorities also need to do more to promote inter-provincial travel, particularly from the south and northeast of the country.
Fyi, on 2019 Chiang Mai welcomes 11 million tourists, with 70 percent of whom are Thai. Otherwise, on 2020 there are only one million people. This year's figure is estimated to be around 25 percent of the numbers 2019.
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