Thai luxury hotels offer huge discounts to save tourist season battered by Iran war
ourists pose for photos with kites flying above a beach in Pattaya.
Thailand is expecting up to 3 million fewer overseas tourists this year.
Photo: Xinhua A cornucopia of bargains is lighting up booking sites for Thailand, where five-star luxury hotel rooms are going for huge discounts during the peak holiday season – the unplanned spin-off from the Iran war which threatens to hit international tourist arrivals at a crucial time of the year.
At the same time, the surge in diesel costs caused by the choking of the Strait of Hormuz has forced many Thais to pause or scrap domestic travel plans, fearing such expenses will continue to rise during the annual Songkran holiday which starts on April 13.
That has revived memories of the Covid-19 pandemic era for some tourism businesses, who say bookings are anaemic, while a market in resales of hotel rooms, glamping tents and mountain resorts has emerged for people whose holiday plans lie in tatters as the war hits them in their pockets.
The US-Israel joint assault on Iran has been a disaster for global travel, with airspace sporadically closed or restricted over the United Arab Emirates, the world’s largest hub for global air travel, as Iranian drones and missiles are aimed at the emirate.
Foreign tourists look at a robot figure made from metal scrap at a tourist spot in Talad Noi, a historic community in Bangkok, Thailand.
Photo: EPA The closure of Hormuz, a passage for a fifth of the world’s energy supply – most of it destined for Asia – has jacked up the prices of long-haul flights.
Airlines have warned passengers they will have to absorb the costs of longer flights – diverted to avoid the conflict zone – and the jet fuel spike caused by the oil restrictions.
Data from the International Air Transport Association showed that refined fuel needed for aviation soared from US$95 per barrel on February 20 to US$197 one month later as the war intensified.
But for those willing to pay the mark-up, bargains await once in Thailand.
On Trip.com and Booking.com, rooms at the Peninsula hotel, a five-star highlight along the Chao Phraya river, are going for under the normal 10,000 baht (US$300) a night, a price virtually unheard of during Thailand’s finale to peak season before the monsoon starts.
On Agoda.com, the downtown five-star Rosewood Hotel is discounted by 16 per cent to 10,000 baht, while the Sofitel is offering rooms at about 6,000 baht – a 60 per cent discount.
Thais get an extra bump at the city’s fi
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