Thai luxury hotels offer huge discounts to save tourist season battered by Iran war

While the lower prices may be a boon for visitors, businesses say ‘the stillness is unsettling’ as they brace themselves for hardship

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Tourists pose for photos with kites flying above a beach in Pattaya. Thailand is expecting up to 3 million fewer overseas tourists this year. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:42pm, 27 Mar 2026Updated: 5:46pm, 27 Mar 2026

A cornucopia of bargains is lighting up booking sites for Thailand, where five-star luxury hotel rooms are going for huge discounts during the peak holiday season – the unplanned spin-off from the Iran war which threatens to hit international tourist arrivals at a crucial time of the year.

At the same time, the surge in diesel costs caused by the choking of the Strait of Hormuz has forced many Thais to pause or scrap domestic travel plans, fearing such expenses will continue to rise during the annual Songkran holiday which starts on April 13.

That has revived memories of the Covid-19 pandemic era for some tourism businesses, who say bookings are anaemic, while a market in resales of hotel rooms, glamping tents and mountain resorts has emerged for people whose holiday plans lie in tatters as the war hits them in their pockets.

The US-Israel joint assault on Iran has been a disaster for global travel, with airspace sporadically closed or restricted over the United Arab Emirates, the world’s largest hub for global air travel, as Iranian drones and missiles are aimed at the emirate.

Foreign tourists look at a robot figure made from metal scrap at a tourist spot in Talad Noi, a historic community in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: EPA

The closure of Hormuz, a passage for a fifth of the world’s energy supply – most of it destined for Asia – has jacked up the prices of long-haul flights.

Thai luxury hotels offer huge discounts to save tourist season battered by Iran war

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}While the lower prices may be a boon for visitors, businesses say ‘the stillness is unsettling’ as they brace themselves for hardship

While the lower prices may be a boon for visitors, businesses say ‘the stillness is unsettling’ as they brace themselves for hardship