Trouble in paradise

Riots and unrest in Thailand and Greece have the tourist industry quaking, but Irish customers waiting for a bargain holiday may be disappointed, writes SANDRA O'CONNELL

TO THE CANNY holiday maker, images of riots and strife in Greece and Thailand mean just one thing – bargains.

Well, you’d think so, particularly as the Greek government has set up an emergency committee to help its tourism industry cope with a predicted slump in bookings as a result of the recent demonstrations.

In the UK, Thomas Cook has already reported a fall off in Greek bookings of 24 per cent. Irish holidaymakers appear to be made of sterner stuff.

According to Amanda Kelly, marketing manager of Sunworld, a Thomas Cook subsidiary, it’s business as usual in relation to Greek bookings.

But while UK tour operators are calling for substantial discounts from Greek hoteliers to help them cope, she believes price drops for Irish holidaymakers will be few and far between.

“We’re not seeing €199 bargains or anything like it, and nor would I expect that to happen,” says Kelly. “Demand has remained strong here because most of our packages fly direct to islands such as Crete and Zante, while most of the trouble is centred around Athens. Once people are avoiding the capital, they are not really worried.”

It’s the same story at Falcon, which flies to Crete, Zakynthos and Corfu. For self-packagers, Greece has fallen off markedly in popularity, according to Mary Power, boss of self-catering.ie, a villa rental website. This has less to do with riots and much more to do with a perceived lack of value.

“Greece is just too expensive. The average cost for a week in June in a three-bedroom villa is between €1,500 and €2,034. In July, that goes up to €5,300, plus flights. Irish people just won’t spend that this year,” says Power.

She believes Greek property owners are doing themselves damage, particularly as riots and demonstrations remain overshadowed by the primary cause of concern for Irish holiday makers – the ash cloud.

“Our customers are overwhelmingly opting to stay on mainland Europe this year on the basis that they can make their way home from the mainland if they have to crawl, but if they opt for an island, they’ll be stranded,” says Power.

Even perennially popular destinations such as the Canaries are experiencing this, and have begun reducing their prices as a result. “It’s another reason the Greeks are going to have to bring down their prices soon,” says Power.

Sunworld is currently offering a week’s stay at the fairly basic Stefania Apartments, a one-bedroom property sleeping four in Stalis, Crete, departing July 2nd for €629 per person.

Alternatively, a week’s stay at the three-star Macedonia apartments in Kalamaki, Zante, costs €2,529 for a family of four, departing July 9th to July 16th.

Panorama holidays has the same dates available for €2,215, staying at the Valentino apartments in Ipsos, Corfu.

If you fancy self-packaging, flights to Athens start from €257 with Malev, stopping in Budapest. From Athens, it is a half-hour commute to Piraeus to catch the ferry.

Or you can book flight only from Sunworld from €274 per person to Crete, and begin your island hopping from there with Santorini, Mykonos and Naxos all manageable options.

Once you turn up with cash in hand, finding bargains should be easier – particularly with the reported fall-off in UK and German bookings. Basic hotel rooms are currently being advertised for less than €40 a night.

In Thailand, the situation is more complex. According to Joanne Coll of long-haul specialist Twohigs, demand is holding up for the country and no price cuts are in evidence yet, although this could change and may be due to the fact that Thai hoteliers were already offering good value deals.

Despite the current Department of Foreign Affairs’ warning against all non-essential travel to Thailand, Coll’s clients are still going but simply changing planes at the airport, avoiding downtown Bangkok, and heading straight to places such as Koh Samui and Phuket.

Unsurprisingly, hotels in Bangkok are suffering right now. Occupancy rates at the Shangri La Hotel, close to the centre of town, stood at just 32 per cent on Thursday, down from a typical 70-80 per cent for this time of year, according to duty manager, Chanya Phak.

The fact that the hotel falls within the curfew zone, which means guests may not leave the premises between 9pm and 5am, is not helping bookings. What is going on right now is a very unexpected event, so it is hard to predict when things will get back to normal, but we hope it is soon, says Phak.

Until May 30th, Thai hoteliers and airlines are offering full refunds on bookings. Tour operators have differing policies, however.

Sunway says its clients can travel to Thailand only if the final destination is not Bangkok. It has eight nights for the price of four at a number of resorts, including the Amari Palm Reef Resort and Spa, a four-star-plus property in Koh Samui, for €855 per person including flights, in June. Stay on the same basis at the four-star Amari Coral Beach hotel in Phuket, BB, for €726.

Other companies are taking a firmer line. “As long as there is a government travel advisory in place we will not send people to Thailand because that is the legal advice we have been given,” says Adrienne Keogh of TravelMood.

At rival operator Destinations, part of the Club Travel group, a spokesperson says: “Some of our clients are switching to places like Malaysia and the Caribbean but others are still determined to go to Thailand, but are avoiding Bangkok. We make them aware that if they travel their insurance is null and void because of the government’s travel advisory, so if they fall sick they have no cover.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs is asking those who go to Thailand to supply it with their names, dates and accommodation details. Worrying as this may be, it’s not enough to stop some people travelling.

The explanation may be simple, according to the Destinations spokesperson. “Right now we have holidays in islands like Krabi, staying in a three and a half star hotel, for seven nights, including flights for €881 per person. The same holiday a year ago would have cost you more than a grand.”