More Thais travelling to Turkey and Middle East

Natural disasters and lingering global economic problems, especially in Europe and the US, are influencing where Thai tourists travel.

After the powerful earthquake and tsunami took place in Japan, one of the most popular destinations for Thais, many Thai tourists moved their focus to Turkey and the Middle East.

“Turkey and the Middle East are still fresh and cheaper than travelling to Europe,” said Luecha Binsalem, managing director of Paradise on Earth Travel Co.

“Thai tourists who have already visited Europe are looking for new destinations with reasonable prices. They want new experiences and memories.

“Although many of them are concerned about political turmoil in the Middle East, there are still many tourist destinations welcoming tourists with interesting Muslim culture and beautiful architecture. Our main clients are Buddhists and Thai-Chinese tourists.”

He said Turkey was the company’s most popular destination, contributing more than half of its total revenue. Turkey package sales have grown continuously by 15-30% per year.

The company sold around 2,000 tour packages in 2010 and expects to sell 2,400 this year. The average price is 59,000 baht for eight days, about 30,000 baht cheaper than European packages.

“There are only two or three tour agencies in this market, but I think the number will increase significantly by 2013. Therefore we are promoting Uzbekistan. Thai tourists are concerned about accommodation, food, and tourist sites, and I strongly believe Uzbekistan has all of these,” he said.

Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, general manager of Quality Express Co, a leading Thai travel agent, said sales to Chinese and Japanese destinations should be fair this year.

Europe still has demand but visa quotas limit visitors. Quality Express is selling package tours in Europe four to five months in advance to have enough time to seek visas for its clients, he said.

Tour packages to India continue to sell like hotcakes. This is because Thai travellers love comfort and good memories, he said. Tours to India should increase to 3,000 this year, up from 1,000 last year.

“I think this market still has room to grow because there are only 10 key players now,” said Mr Thanapol.

via Bangkok Post : More Thais travelling to Turkey and Middle East.