Photo courtesy of Tourism Authority of Thailand
Trivago, a huge hotel search engine site, is reporting that the military's seizure of power has devastated the allure of Thailand and Southeast Asia for U.S. travelers. The May 22 coup that followed more than six months of civic unrest in Bangkok has seen U.S. tourist interest to Thailand plunge by 43 percent.
Trivago measured American travel interest to Thailand in the week following the coup (May 22 to 29) and found a 43 percent drop in travel searches to the country, compared to the week before. Similar drops were seen on Canadian, Australian and European trivago platforms.
The same measure found travel interest to Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia also decline by an average of 29 percent. Interestingly, Trivago used comparative measurement in Spain and found that interest from Spanish travelers to Thailand fell 53 percent in the immediate aftermath of the May 22 military takeover, but that interest swelled interest to Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia by more than 20 percent.
If recent marketing history repeats itself, Thailand will rebound swiftly with American travelers. A majority of U.S. travelers to Thailand are repeaters who feel assured of the friendliness of the Thai people. Knowing too, that coups in Thailand tend to take place behind closed doors, these repeat travelers feel secure.
Destinations outside of Bangkok, especially Phuket, have learned how to market themselves as separate entities from the rest of the country. Having said that, Thailand can't afford to lose important tourism partnerships with such destinations as Cambodia and Vietnam as much of their long haul business comes in combination with these countries.
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