Airlines may cut Thai routes
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Several major airlines will cut long haul flights to Thailand next year following a slump in demand, the Nation has reported. The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) has forecasted a 12% drop in inbound visitor numbers for 2009, with previous targets for 17 million visitors in the year now being revised to 15 million. Thai Airways is one such company cutting routes; yesterday marked the indefinite suspension of its New York-Bangkok services, and ATTA President Apichart Sankary says that further service cuts are likely. “Other airlines such as Lufthansa are also considering reducing long haul flights between Thailand and Europe,” Apichart said. Meanwhile the country’s resorts are suffering; the Phuket Tourism Association as admitted that foreign tourist bookings are down 15-20% from last year, while Koh Samui’s hotel occupancy rate for this year is approximately 60%, down from 70-80% during the same period in 2007.
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