Road to Recovery: Royal Orchid hits back in discounting war
Adventure World, the global selling agent for Royal Orchid Holidays in Australia, has responded to the comments made by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), as reported in TravelMole on June 3.
Neil Rodgers, head of marketing wholesale, Tourism and Leisure Holdings, said 50 percent discount in room rates offered by Royal Orchid Holidays was launched in April in conjunction with the celebration of the company’s 50 years in operation.
“It is important to note the sale started prior to the political unrest in Thailand and was not in any way in response to the current environment.”
Rogers said Royal Orchid Holidays and Adventure World are dedicated to ensuring “that Thailand continues to benefit from tourism resulting from the Australian market and is committed to rebuilding the industryâ€.
Thailand PATA Chapter criticised Thai Airways International’s Royal Orchid Holidays division for asking its hotel partners to provide promotional deals to speed up the country’s recovery.
In a press statement, Thailand PATA Chapter chairman, Bert van Walbeek, accused Royal Orchid Holidays of inventing a “self-defeating tourism recovery strategy for Thailand – price reductions of 50 percentâ€.
He stated, “ROH expects hotels to sweeten the pot further with free dinners, cash vouchers and room upgrades.â€
Pacific Asia Travel Association president, Greg Duffell, also came out against discounting last week. 


“We believe that we must rebuild international confidence in Thailand as a destination that already offers tremendous value. 


“As we now enter the low season, hotel rates are extremely competitive. We prefer to see an image building campaign, rather than a strategy based on product discounting. 


“We are also advising hotels to add value to room rates by including free wi-fi, breakfast rather than simply slash prices,†Duffell said.
Ian Jarrett
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