Tourism Sector Hopes THAI Would Reass Plan To Cut Flights

17th Aug 2015

The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) president, Ittirit Kinglake disclosed that THAI's plan to curtail flight services to Russia and regions in EU was a big letdown to the local tourism sector, citing that the country stands to lose a good number of tourists flying into the country.

According to the TCT president, THAI's decision will trigger a substantial drop in passengers coming in and out of the country. Further, this setback could have long-range effect to the industry. He added that the impact of THAI's decision may not be felt at the moment given that the current and succeeding month are considered lean periods for air travel and tourism industry.

However, once peak season kicks in this October up until February, the need for more seats will be strongly felt. If THAI continues to uphold its decision, the country's tourism industry could suffer.

The TCT president opined that THAI should reconsider its earlier position and come up with a decision before the peak season comes in.

In two months time, the airline is scheduled to curtail its Bangkok-LA flight services. Early next year, it will no longer conduct flights to Rome.

THAI has been curtailing unviable flights routes. The early part of the year saw a string of flight service cancellations implemented by the airline.

During the first quarter of 2015, it curtailed its Johannesburg, Madrid, and Moscow flight services.

This was followed by another flight cancellation, particularly its Bangkok-Sapporo route.

Ittirit said that suspending flights can be risky since it is quite difficult to regain old clients in case the airline would want to resume flight routes curtailed in the past. There is a big possibility that old clients have already turned to other airlines for their travel needs.

There is also the probability of having to face more stringent security checks once it re-applies with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for a new license to operate in regions of previously cancelled routes.

Meanwhile, to compensate for the cancelled services, THAI will add flight routes to both Frankfurt and London. It is also eyeing flight routes to China to take advantage of the growing demand for air travel among Chinese citizens.

According to a top official from the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association the recent yuan devaluation could trigger an influx of Chinese vacationists to Thailand. The group estimates that about a million visitors from China might travel to the country during the Chinese National Day Golden Week which will fall on October 1 to 7.

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