BANGKOK, Thailand – The foreign chambers of commerce in Thailand have urged the government to ensure tourist safety and crack down on illegal businesses in order to raise the country’s competitiveness and sustainable growth.

Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT), which comprises about 30 foreign chambers representing more than 900 companies and business organisations, said the chamber is seeking to help and restore the tourism business after the sector was hit hard by political unrest months ago.

He said Thai tourism had once again been damaged this year due to the political chaos. A lot of tourists are still worried about visiting the Kingdom perhaps due to the martial law.

“We [JFCCT] would like to urge the tourists to return to Thailand. The government should assure visitors full safety and also take good care of them while travelling in the country,” said Kang.

He added that many chambers would explain to people in their countries about the political situation in Thailand. “Though there is martial law, it is different from other places,” he said.

JFCCT is planning to meet with the tourism and sports minister to discuss the current situation and further cooperation.

Eric Hallin, tourism committee chief and chairman at JFCCT, said arrivals to Thailand from October last year to the third quarter of this year fell by 20 per cent year on year. The drop was mainly due to news coverage on safety issues in international media following the coup. Also, tourism businesses faced tough competition.

He said the average occupancy rate at hotels in Bangkok early this month was 55-60 per cent, which is slightly lower than the normal low season. However, the number of tourists will increase during the rest of this month and many more are expected during the high season this year.

According to the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), the number of international tourists travelling with ATTA members during January 1 to September 10 dropped by 40 per cent compared to same period last year. Travel companies have lost 1.2 million tourists during this period.

ATTA also reported that all of its top 20 inbound markets plunged by 32 per cent compared to the same period last year. Of this, Hong Kong saw the biggest drop, 79 per cent, while the US market saw the least fall with 17 per cent.

In order to improve the country’s competitiveness and prepare for sustainable growth, Hallin suggested that the government crack down on all illegal businesses in the Kingdom.

Nearly 2,000 hotels in Bangkok and its outskirts are running without licences or are understood to be illegal. Only 469 hotels in the areas have a licence.
“Registered hotel operators are paying high tax while non-registered ones are not and they are now hurting the entire sector,” said Hallin. There are also a lot of fake or nominee-run travel companies in the market, who often cause problems.

Earlier, a group of tourism veterans called on the government to help reform the industry database as well as clean up inactive policies and poor management.