THAILAND -Slump in foreign visitors 15% fall in those booking via agents

The Nation business, September 12, 2007

It says the number of foreign tourists who arrived at Suvarnabhumi between January and August, after booking their travel through travel agencies, totalled 1.57 million, down by a whopping 15.3 per cent from the corresponding period last year.
The association's figures show that the arrivals were down by 350,000 from 1.92 million in the first eight months of 2006.
The figures do not, however, include the large number of tourists who travel without using agencies, and who book directly with airlines. And although Suvarnabhumi is the main tourist gateway to Thailand, the figures do not include arrivals directly to other international airports like Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai and Krabi.
The ATTA says the global economic slowdown, Thailand's political turmoil, rumours that Bangkok was targeted for more bombings and the sharp fluctuations in major currencies had been the main negative factors affecting the tourist industry.

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