Skift Take
It’s easy to blame the baht as the butt of the problem for a decline in European arrivals to Thailand. The issues, however, are wider and deeper than just currency appreciation.
The cost of a holiday in popular beach resorts in Thailand is now on par with or higher than those in Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Egypt, which are closer to home for Europeans.
The cost of a five-star resort in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Samed has reached around $500 per room per night including American breakfast. This is similar to the cost of a five-star beach resort in Greece, Italy and Spain, and dearer than a comparable property in Turkey or Egypt, which costs $350 a night, according to Diethelm Travel Group.
It is even pricier than a mountain resort in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, which is $450 a room in the summer July/August high season for Europeans.
Diethelm, one of Thailand’s oldest and largest inbound specialists, does regular price benchmarking and shares the latest figures with Skift.
Prices for four-star Thai beach hotels also show a similar pattern: They cost around $350, as do counterparts in Greece/Italy/Spain, and are higher than the $200 in Turkey/Egypt and $300 in Germany/Austria/Switzerland.
A Thai holiday pricing has increased by about 30 percent in U.S. dollar terms and 40 percent euros over the last five years due to the appreciation of the baht and inflation, Diethelm’s Group CEO Stephan Roemer pointed out.
“This is definitely too much,” said Roemer, who also owns Switzerland’s tour operating company Tourasia, which specializes in Asia holidays.
“Hotels at the well-known resort areas in Thailand are more expensive than comparable resorts in Europe. I fear a negative impact in the medium to longer term [six to 18 months) particularly for the leisure market to Thailand,” he said.
The baht has kept on strengthening since January, due to the country’s current account surplus with $1 fetching only 30 baht now compared to 36 baht before, and the industry fearing it’ll get worse.
“Although there ar
