Domestic travel demand weakened by rising Covid infections, high prices

A spike in daily new infections, coupled with high prices for goods and services, has stymied the recovery of domestic tourism. La-Iad Bungsrithong from the northern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association says this is despite government schemes such as We Travel Together and other incentives designed to attract visitors, such as local events.

“Bookings from the fourth phase of the stimulus haven’t yet picked up as strong as hoteliers expected due to Omicron concerns.”

The Bangkok Post reports that the response to phase 4 of the government’s domestic tourism stimulus has been weaker than in other phases. During the first week of the campaign, only 300,000 room nights were used. From February 13, 471,310 rooms from a total of 2 million additional rooms have been booked.

La-Iad says that, while hotel operators had hoped that January and February occupancy would remain at 55%,…