Phetchaburi, February 1 - The Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) Phetchaburi office is emphasising Cha-am and Hua Hin as destinations for international long-stay tourists, especially those from Europe.
Nongnit Tengmaneevwan, the office's director, said long-stay tourists have gradually increased in both destinations, leading it to promotions for retirees.
In the past, most tourist arrivals to Cha-am and Hua Hin were locals, with 770,000 visiting the two beach resort cities in 2010, 70% of the total.
International tourists to these two cities in 2010 totalled 300,000, with half the long-stay visitors coming from Europe where the length of stay was between two weeks and six months.
A campaign to attract international long-stay tourists with local cultural events was launched last October and will run to March this year.
Thiva Kesavan, the general manager of Alila Cha-am Thailand, said the two towns still have room for growth in the tourism industry as competition in the province remains thin and the towns are not too far from Bangkok.
The hotel suffered in its first year of operation in 2008, with an occupancy rate of only 30%. Emphasising the domestic market it raised the average occupancy rate in 2010 to 55%.
The ratio of international to domestic guests changed from 70:30 in 2008 to 40:60 in 2010. In 2011, the industry aims to achieve an occupancy rate of 60%.
Mr Thiva said Cha-am and Hun Hin grew after the tsunami devastated the island province of Phuket and other provinces in 2004.
Alila expects its market share in the two towns to rise from 5% last year to 15% this year.
"We aim to be the leader in the hotel business in Hua Hin and Cha-am in terms of average room rate by 2013. We forecast our average room rate in 2011 will be around 5,000 baht per room per night, while other hotels at the same level should stand around 4,000 baht per room per night. We are currently top three in the market," said Mr Thiva.
Apart from Europe, Asia and India will become a key market for the industry.
"We are targeting the family and wedding segment. We are using inbound travel partners, local wedding and meeting planners, selective media coverage and TAT roadshows to market for Indian weddings," said Mr Thiva.
