The publish Thailand’s hospitality advantage lies in brand strength and infrastructure – JLL’s Jon Cannon appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily Media.
He highlights how innovation, sustainability, and sturdy management are key to long-term resilience.
Amidst intensifying competitors and evolving traveller calls for in Thailand’s hospitality sector, trade leaders are leaning on strategic foresight, adaptability, and a dedication to innovation.
Offering helpful insights is Jon Cannon, Senior Vice President – Hotel Asset Management for Thailand and Vietnam at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group. With over 20 years of expertise in the hospitality trade, his profession has taken him from the United Kingdom to Australia, earlier than establishing a robust presence in Thailand by means of senior management roles throughout Bangkok, Phuket, and Samui.
In his present function, Cannon oversees a various portfolio of motels throughout Thailand and Vietnam, managing tasks that span pre-opening operations, funds opinions, strategic planning, meals and beverage initiatives, and regional initiatives. Beyond his function at JLL, he additionally serves as Vice President on the Board of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Thailand and contributes as a visitor lecturer at trade occasions and Universities in Thailand and Vietnam.
As a decide on the TDM Travel Trade Excellence Awards 2025 – Thailand, Cannon highlights Thailand’s present market positioning, the sector’s response to rising tendencies, and the significance of cultivating management and sustainability, shaping the way forward for hospitality in the area.
Given your in depth expertise throughout a number of areas, how would you assess Thailand’s present positioning in the regional journey and hospitality market?
2025 is popping out to be more difficult than many forecasted, regardless of the sturdy restoration we noticed in 2024. Thailand’s tourism sector is feeling the pressure from a mixture of elements: security considerations amongst Chinese travellers, geopolitical tensions which can be disrupting air routes and extending journey occasions, and while ticket costs have moderated, tariffs and cost-of-living pressures in key supply markets are lowering discretionary spend. Domestically, tighter family budgets in Thailand are additionally weighing on resort and F&B revenues.
When evaluating the panorama to Vietnam, Thailand’s well-established brand and mature infrastructure stay clear benefits, providing reliability and depth of expertise that newer markets can’t but match. However, Vietnam is capitalising on its contemporary attraction and fast progress, attracting funding and guests hungry for rising locations, which places added strain on Thailand to maintain evolving.
All of this underscores the necessity for Thailand to pivot from reactive discounting in the direction of extra proactive methods targeted on diversification and experience-driven worth. It’s about constructing resilience to exterior shocks while doubling down on what makes Thailand uniquely engaging.
With shifting traveller behaviours and rising competitors throughout Southeast Asia, what strategic approaches are Thai hospitality corporations adopting to distinguish themselves and seize new demand?
We’re seeing a transparent pivot in the direction of wellness and holistic way of life choices as youthful travellers transfer away from conventional, price-driven decisions. The new era of friends is keen to pay a premium for experiences that align with their values, whether or not that’s wellness retreats, hyper-local immersion, or boutique stays with a narrative. Thai operators are investing extra in design-led properties, strong wellness programming, and personalised visitor journeys to satisfy these expectations. At the identical time, there’s smarter segmentation of markets and extra agile digital engagement to draw and retain numerous demographics. This mix of tailoring experiences and embracing evolving client mindsets is how Thailand stays forward.
How can hospitality corporations in Thailand combine sustainability into their long-term enterprise fashions while balancing visitor expectations and calls for?
Sustainability has moved past a ‘nice to have’—it’s changing into a essential a part of company RFPs, influencing the place main accounts guide their stays. ESG metrics tied to waste, water, and power use at the moment are commonplace dialogue factors, each for operators and house owners, and more and more demanded by wholesalers too. Thai motels should construct strong data-driven reporting into their operations and transparently talk these efforts to friends and companions. The purpose is to make sustainability seamless to the visitor expertise, enhancing fairly than compromising it. Those who embed ESG on the core of their technique won’t solely meet rising expectations but in addition acquire a business edge.
What management qualities are a very powerful for hospitality executives navigating Thailand’s present financial and aggressive panorama?
It stays a people-first trade, however leaders right this moment should additionally adapt to numerous generational studying kinds and the fact that groups are advancing by means of roles extra quickly, which impacts turnover. Modern hospitality executives should be mentors who can stability fast growth paths with sustained culture-building. Adaptability, emotional intelligence, and the flexibility to domesticate innovation are key, as is monetary acumen in this margin-sensitive surroundings. It’s about inspiring groups while making certain they’re geared up to ship distinctive visitor experiences in a panorama that’s evolving at an unprecedented pace.
Looking forward, what vital shifts do you foresee in Thailand’s journey and hospitality sector in the approaching years, and how ought to corporations place themselves to stay aggressive and related?
AI will likely be transformative — not by changing folks, however by automating routine duties and unlocking extra time for workers to have interaction meaningfully with friends. Combined with digital personalisation and continued diversification into secondary locations, it is going to redefine service supply. Sustainability and genuine native immersion can even deepen as core drivers of journey choices. To keep aggressive, Thai operators ought to embrace expertise to spice up effectivity and tailor experiences, while doubling down on what makes Thai hospitality particular: real human connection. This mixture of tech and coronary heart is the place the long run lies.
As a returning decide for the TDM Travel Trade Excellence Awards 2025 – Thailand, what standards will you be utilizing when evaluating this yr’s nominees?
I’ll be searching for submissions which can be genuinely bespoke, not merely tick-box solutions or generic templates. Innovation, measurable impression, and a transparent dedication to folks, sustainability, and visitor expertise will weigh closely. Given the quickly altering panorama, I’ll additionally worth how nominees reveal agility and a forward-thinking mindset. It’s about discovering initiatives that not solely excel right this moment however set benchmarks for the trade tomorrow. Ultimately, the strongest entries will likely be those who really feel tailor-made, considerate, and authentically pushed by ardour for excellence.
The publish Thailand’s hospitality advantage lies in brand strength and infrastructure – JLL’s Jon Cannon appeared first on Travel Daily Media.
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