Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association Proposes 5 Tourism Boost Measures

Thansettakij•Economy•20d ago

Reader Briefing

The Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association presented five economic and tourism proposals to the Mobile Cabinet on September 1, 2026.

•Dr. Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha and the Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association proposed five measures to the Mobile Cabinet to stimulate the southern border economy.
•Proposals include digitalizing border documents, canceling overtime immigration fees, implementing land-border VAT refunds, expanding into the Indonesian market, and creating a specialized tourism bank.
•Local businesses report significant negative impacts from the new Sadao checkpoint due to poor infrastructure and loss of revenue for the Dan Nok community.
•Songkhla province generated over 32,227 million baht in tourism revenue during the first seven months of 2026.

•On September 1, 2026, the private sector of Hatyai held a workshop with the Mobile Cabinet focusing on economy, society, security, and disasters.
•Dr. Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha of the Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association proposed shifting border document submissions to an online system three days prior to travel.
•The Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association suggested the Tourism Authority of Thailand expand its market to Indonesia via direct or connecting flights from Medan to Hatyai.
•Dr. Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha stated that the new Sadao checkpoint lacks public transport and lighting, causing tourists to pay high motorcycle taxi fares.
•Businesses in the Dan Nok community have seen sales drop by 80% since the opening of the new Sadao checkpoint.
•Songkhla province saw 4.44 million visitors and 32,227 million baht in revenue from January to July 2026.
•Large hotels have recovered with occupancy rates of 40-50% on weekdays and 70-80% on weekends, while many SMEs have closed permanently.
•The provincial Chamber of Commerce is coordinating with the government to secure soft loans for affected small and medium enterprises.

Full article content is available on the original source.

Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association(สมาคมโรงแรมไทยหาดใหญ่-สงขลา)

An association that submitted five proposals to the Mobile Cabinet to reduce travel obstacles and stimulate spending.

Tourism Authority of Thailand(การท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย (ททท.))ℹ️

The agency proposed to target the Indonesian market and set revenue goals for Songkhla province.

Provincial Chamber of Commerce(หอการค้าจังหวัด)

An organization coordinating soft loan measures from the government for SMEs.

UNESCO(ยูเนสโก)ℹ️

The organization that selected Songkhla as a City of Gastronomy.

Dr. Sitthiphong Sitthiphatprapha(ดร.สิทธิพงษ์ สิทธิภัทรประภา)

President of the Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association who presented the economic proposals.

New Sadao Checkpoint(ด่านสะเดาแห่งใหม่)

A new customs checkpoint designed for logistics that is currently lacking infrastructure for tourists.

Dan Nok(ด่านนอก)

A community and business area negatively impacted by the shift of tourists to the new checkpoint.

Songkhla(สงขลา)ℹ️

A province experiencing tourism recovery and designated as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.

Hatyai(หาดใหญ่)ℹ️

A city in Songkhla province that has faced economic struggles and flooding.

Padang Besar(ปาดังเบซาร์)

A location proposed for a double-track railway connection to Hatyai.