300,000 Malaysians flock to southern Thailand during school break

 There was full occupancy at the 30,000 hotel rooms, the Hatyai-Songkhla hotel association reported.

Many Malaysian tourists returning home had to wait between three and four hours to get through the immigration process, particularly at Sadao, a hotelier said. (Bernama pic)

SONGKHLA:

Nearly 300,000 Malaysian tourists flocked to southern Thailand during the school holidays and Aidiladha break from May 27 to June 4, generating more than one billion baht (RM123 million) in revenue, according to a Thai hotelier.

Sittipong Sitthiphataraprabah, president of the Hatyai-Songkhla Hotel Association, said there was full occupancy of the more than 30,000 hotel rooms in that duration, generating more than one billion baht in tourism revenue.

He said Songkhla, Satun, Phatthalung, Trang, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat were some of the favourite destinations of Malaysian tourists.

Sittipong expressed unhappiness that many Malaysian tourists had to wait between three and four hours to get through the immigration process, particularly at the Sadao checkpoint.

“Some tourists were stranded on their way back to Malaysia, to the point where they had to spend the night in their vehicles or by the roadside due to the unusual congestion,” he said. He hoped remedial action can be taken soon.

A Malaysian tourist, Faizul Nasruddin, 40, from Banting, Selangor, said he and his wife found it worth their while to take an eight-hour motorcycle ride to get to their holiday in Hatyai for its variety of delicious and reasonably priced food.

“Even when faced with the congestion at the land crossing, I would still come because there is no other place quite like Hatyai,” he said.

Another tourist, 42-year-old Hasbul Hisyam Yusuf from Terengganu, said his family visits Hatyai every holiday season because of the food. “We have been to most destinations in Malaysia, but Hatyai is our family’s choice.” - FMT