Hong Kong unrest hits Thai travel market

Protesters gather near an information board during a protest at Hong Kong airport on Monday. (AP photo)

The bitter protests in Hong Kong are expected to have a significant impact on Thailand's travel industry, with a number of outbound trip cancellations in recent weeks.

The Association of Thai Travel Agents said travel agencies have cut many tour packages to Hong Kong after a wave of sometimes violent protests erupted in the territory since June.

President Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn estimates that tour companies slashed the volume of tour packages to Hong Kong by up to half as most Thai travellers shifted their travel plans to other countries in Asia.

He said most travellers from Thailand to Hong Kong are independent travellers who have flexibility and can adjust travel plans easily.

The Hong Kong Immigration Department reported that 570,000 Thais visited Hong Kong in 2018, a slight increase of 2% from 2017. Visitors from China topped arrivals last year with 34 million, followed by the Taiwanese.

Chairat Trirattanajarasporn, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said Thailand would receive less of an uptick from the prolonged protests in Hong Kong because foreign tourists, notably from China, are wary after the recent bombings in Bangkok.

Mr Chairat said volatile currency movements are a concern among the Chinese: the yuan is weakening, while the baht remains strong despite a policy rate cut by the central bank last week.

He said the situation has steered Chinese tourists to Singapore, which provides better safety for visitors.

Hong Kong's flagship Cathay Pacific airline reported a decrease in inbound passenger traffic in July, and the protests have adversely impacted forward bookings.

But Yongyut Lujintanon, Cathay Pacific's head of sales for Thailand and Myanmar, said the airline's business returned to normal a day after a general strike on Aug 5 that caused transport chaos in the city.

The Hong Kong-based carrier operates three routes in Thailand, offering two flights a day for Hong Kong-Suvarnabhumi and Phuket-Hong Kong and a daily flight from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong.

Mr Yongyut said last Monday's incident caused some 200 flight cancellations at Hong Kong airport, including three routes from Thailand. On the plus side, Cathay Pacific's traffic in Thailand showed a healthy result in July, with a load factor of about 80%.