Thailand sees major hotels advance with 30 properties

More than half of the rooms will be located in Bangkok and the rest in major tourist centres such as Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui as well as in emerging destinations such as Krabi and Koh Chang. Among the new hotels slated to open in Bangkok are the Hilton Millennium, Central World Hotel, the Regent Sukhumvit, Holiday Inn Sukhumvit, Millennium Le Méridien, three Ibis brand hotels of the Accor Group and the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel. The new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok scheduled to open in June and the Chiang Mai Night Safari were important factors driving the increase in rooms, said Prakit Chinamourphong, vice-president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA). According to the THA, Bangkok's hotel occupancy last year was 73 per cent, compared to 79per cent in 2004. "We expect a 75per cent to 80per cent occupancy rate in Bangkok next year," Prakit said.