Tourists walk on a road in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Reuters
Luxury hotels across Thailand, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, are rolling out deep discounts to attract domestic travelers as international arrivals weaken due to disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict.
Thai residents and expatriates are being offered discounts of up to 70% at five-star hotels, where nightly rates can typically reach US$1,000, Bloomberg reported.
At Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, one of the capital’s most iconic riverside properties, rooms are now priced below $300 per night.
In southern Thailand, a luxury resort overlooking the dramatic limestone cliffs of Railay Beach is offering stays from around $430 per night, roughly half its usual rate.
The steep promotions come as flight cancellations and airspace closures tied to the conflict in Iran disrupt key Europe-Asia travel routes, making journeys to Thailand more complex and costly.
Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism fears a loss of 596,000 visitors and 40.9 billion baht ($1.29 billion) in revenues if the conflict drags on for more than eight weeks.
Phangnga Province has already seen a sharp decline in European arrivals and estimates losses at nearly 1.7 billion baht ($52.3 million), according to its hotel association, Bangkok Post reported.
Authorities are also preparing contingency measures to offset any decline in arrivals from long-haul markets including Europe and the U.S.
Thailand experienced a tourism downturn last year amid a combination of kidnapping incidents, flooding and border conflict.
The country is aiming to attract 37 million foreign visitors this year, a projected increase of more than 11% from 2025 but that target is increasingly at risk.
As of mid-March, Thailand had recorded 7.9 million arrivals, with China, Malaysia and Russia remaining its leading source markets.
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