TRAT, Thailand, 13 April 2020: Domestic travellers keep tourism ticking over smoothly on Chang Island, a hideaway destination Trat province on the Gulf of Thailand according to the latest C9 Hotelworks report.
A day’s drive from Bangkok the destination prospers on its with domestic tourists, mainly from Bangkok and nearby provinces. Thai visitors usually travel during the low season from April to September.
During the peak period from December to February, most hotels run over 90% occupancy, with high demand coming from long-haul European visitors, with up to a two-week average length of stay.
“In a nutshell, opposite travel patterns of domestic and international visitors result give the island a balanced year-round hotel demand,” said C9 Hotelworks managing director, Bill Barnett.
In 2019, Chang Island welcomed 1.3 million visitors. The Thai Baht appreciation last year affected hotel guests’ behaviour and purchasing power; hence many hotels had to adjust room rates, resulting in a decline in RevPAR of 3%.
The Covid-19 crisis in Q1 2020 has negatively affected hotel occupancy in terms of early check-outs, cancellations, and a flat trend in new bookings. As of February 2020, it is estimated that the number of visitors to Chang dropped by 18% year-to-date.
For hotel supply, registered properties will grow to 281 establishments with new 8,159 keys by the end of 2022. By 2022, there will be two hotel developments entering the market, namely Splash Hotel (40 keys) and Marriott Koh Chang Hotel (240 keys).
The island’s domestic demand should enjoy early recovery in the post-Covid-19 era. Due to increasing hotel supply in the upscale and upper-upscale market segments in recent years, competition amongst four-star hotels is anticipated to mute average room rate growth in the short term.
To read and download C9 Hotelworks Koh Chang Hotel Market Update 2020 click –
https://www.c9hotelworks.com/downloads/koh-chang-hotel-market-update-2020-04.pdf
