BANGKOK, 12 June 2019: Overall demand for Thailand hotels has increased by 10% year-on-year according to the latest Expedia Group data showing hotel demand trends to Thailand.
The report claims Thai accommodation partners are enjoying steady growth as evidenced by Expedia Group’s data over the last 12 months.
Based on demand generated by Expedia Group’s portfolio of travel brands, booking trends through the group shows the USA remains the largest market to Thailand, with demand growing by 20% year-on-year.
China now is the second largest market to Thailand, surpassing Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea for the first time in the past two years according to the group’s booking data.
Alongside China’s strong performance, India has also upped its game, moving up three ranks to gain a place in Thai’s top 10 international markets.
Chinese and Indian travellers demonstrate a growing appetite for premium accommodation – more than 60% of the bookings made by Chinese, 55% of bookings made by Indians were in four-star and five-star hotels. This trend is in line with Thai’s government focus to attract more high-end arrivals from China and India.
In terms of popular destinations, Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya are the most popular for Chinese and Indian travellers. Hua Hin (110% YoY), Phi Phi Island (100% YoY) and Lipe Island (100% YoY) emerge as the rising markets with triple-digit demand increase during the same period.
Recent research found that 80% of international travellers, regardless of age, believe it would be helpful to book accommodations in one place.
Recognising the trend, Expedia Group’s data confirmed a rising demand for one-stop shopping experiences represented a 50% YoY increase in international package bookings.
Expedia Group’s packages, allow travellers to combine hotel, airfare, car bookings and tour options in a single booking.
It gives travellers the ability to efficiently book their trips in one-go, saving money and time.
In particular, the data uncovered that Chinese travellers are the driving force behind the strong demand for packages into Thailand.
Chinese make almost one in three international package bookings. China is also the fastest growing market for packages as demand skyrocketed by 200% YoY.
India is trending in the same direction, with package demand up by 160% YoY. Other markets tracking triple-digit growth in package demand include Ireland (130% YoY), South Korea (120% YoY) and Indonesia (100% YoY).
“We are pleased to see Expedia Group is contributing to the country’s grand scheme of tourism growth,“ said Expedia Group market management director, Pimpawee Nopakitgumjorn: “Accommodation players who look to build a strong base of international customers should consider our unique package offerings, as we know international package bookers coming to Thailand typically, stay half-day longer, pay 10% more on accommodation and 50% less likely to cancel their bookings, compared to those who booked standalone deals.”
Expedia Group confirms that the UAE, South Africa and Israel are the new high-end markets for hoteliers to tap. Travellers from these markets typically spend 15% more on accommodation and stay one day longer than the average international counterparts. Moreover, a whopping 70% of the total bookings made by these nationalities were in four-star and five-star hotels where travellers paid 50% more on daily accommodation.
When it comes to popular destinations, UAE, South African and Israeli travellers prefer staying in Bangkok to experience the bustling metropolitan vibe, or chilling at the beachside in Phuket, Pattaya, Samui and Phangan island.
Accommodation partners wanting to capture this new stream of high-value travellers need to be aware of the peak seasons. Data showed that UAE travellers prefer travelling from June to September and December to January, while both Israeli and South Africa travellers prefer travelling from December to February.
(Source Expedia)
