PATTAYA — Tourism operators in Pattaya and Chon Buri are struggling under the weight of the government’s work-from-home policies during the low season, with hotels expecting occupancy rates of just 30 to 40 percent this month — far below the usual 60 to 70 percent — as they compete for Chinese and Indian tourists by offering steep discounts.

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In a meeting with Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul last week, the mayor of Pattaya City, the Association of Chonburi Tourism Federation and the Thai Hotels Association’s eastern chapter issued an urgent plea for intervention. Their message was clear: without government help, the low season will be devastating.

Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, president of the Association of Chonburi Tourism Federation, explained that hotels in Pattaya typically rely on short-haul tourists and local meeting groups to maintain occupancy during the slow months. But this year, many public organisations have postponed their trips indefinitely due to work-from-home policies that keep employees at home rather than sending them to hotel meeting rooms. Private companies that had booked meetings have also cancelled their plans to save costs, leaving hotels scrambling to adjust their operational expenses with no backup plan.

“The only segment we can still target is foreign leisure tourists, particularly those from China and India,” Thanet said. But those markets are not enough to fill the gap left by the evaporation of domestic meeting groups.

The association proposed that the government assign the same work-from-home days to all organisations, allowing officers to choose remote work days before or after weekends, enabling them to extend their trips and travel to destinations like Pattaya. A simple change in scheduling, hoteliers argue, could turn a bleak low season into a manageable one.

Thailand’s hotel sector is entering a tougher low season, with bookings down sharply as the Middle East conflict pushes up oil prices and airfares.

Operators say the slowdown is being driven more by weaker new bookings than cancellations.

The MICE market is also under pressure,…

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Watcharapong Khunpluem, president of the Thai Hotels Association’s eastern chapter, added that the government should also allow public and provincial organisations to hold meetings within their cities or within a specified distance, since they have already budgeted for annual meetings. Currently, many of those meetings are being cancelled entirely rather than relocated, leaving hotel ballrooms empty. He noted that hotel bookings in Bang Saen, a popular coastal destination near Pattaya, have fallen by 50 percent this month as the school break ends and meeting groups fail to materialise.

Thanet also pressed the minister for an airfare subsidy under the “Thai Teaw Thai Plus” programme, similar to the pandemic period when 40 percent of domestic airfares were subsidised. High travel and energy prices are now a major obstacle for domestic tourists, he said, and without help with flight costs, many Thais will simply stay home.

The association also urged the government to allocate budget to help maintain international flights connecting short-haul markets with high potential, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Malaysia and South Korea. Long-haul tourists have significantly slowed due to the low season, flight disruptions and expensive airfares, making short-haul and domestic markets the only lifeline for struggling hotels.

“Now we must prioritise domestic and short-haul markets,” Thanet said. “Long-haul tourists have significantly slowed due to the low season, flight disruptions and expensive airfares.”

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For Pattaya, a city that reinvented itself as a family-friendly destination after years of relying on a different kind of tourism, the current downturn is a test of resilience. Without government intervention, hoteliers warn, many properties may not survive the low season. The question is whether Bangkok is listening. Subsidies, scheduling changes and meeting allowances cost money, but allowing Pattaya’s hotel industry to collapse would cost far more in lost jobs and tax revenue. The low season is here. The question is whether the government will throw a lifeline before it is too late.

-Thailand News (TN)