Pattaya and Chon Buri tourism operators are suffering from the government's work-from-home policies during the low season, expecting only 30-40% occupancy rates this month while they compete for markets with high potential such as Chinese and Indian tourists by offering discounts.

The mayor of Pattaya City, the Association of Chonburi Tourism Federation (ACTF) and the Thai Hotels Association's (THA) eastern chapter held a meeting with Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul last week.

They urged the government to offer an airfare subsidy in the "Thai Teaw Thai Plus" programme, similar to the pandemic period, as high travel and energy prices are a major obstacle for domestic tourists.

The ACTF said hotels in Pattaya typically record a 60–70% average occupancy rate in the low season, supported by short-haul tourists and local meeting groups.

However, they could register only 30-40% occupancy this month as many public organisations postponed their trips due to the work-from-home policies.

Many private companies that booked meetings at hotels earlier also cancelled their plans to save costs, forcing hotels to struggle to adjust their operational costs, as they can now only target foreign tourists in the leisure segment, particularly those from China and India.

The ACTF also asked the minister to offer an airfare subsidy for domestic flights, not only for hotel rooms, as high travel costs from a surge in fuel prices are a major hurdle for tourists.

During the pandemic, 40% of domestic airfares were subsidised via this scheme.

The group also said the government should allocate some budget to help maintain international flights that connect short-haul markets with high potential, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Malaysia and South Korea.