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TAT to focus on tourism promotion activities in India, China, Middle East this year

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), has decided to pump up its tourism promotion activities in emerging markets like China, the Middle East and India throughout the current year. These markets have recently gained the attention of tourism promoters, by recording steady growth during the past years. TAT will maintain its intensive promotion campaign in these three markets throughout 2008, hoping to attract more visitors, in order to compensate for the missed opportunities from long-haul countries due to the surge in oil prices that has affected the air travel business. According to a release from TAT, marketing and sales promoting activities are therefore critical in encouraging and maintaining long-term growth.

As China is expected to become Thailand’s number one market in the next three years and several campaigns are already ongoing to encourage more travel from that country. Expecting to welcome about 1,150,000 visitor arrivals by year-end, TAT will be working closely with qualified travel agents in China to ensure incoming traffic will be of high quality. TAT will also participate in many travel fairs; such as, the China International Travel Mart in Shanghai and Kunming and Guangzhou International Travel Fair, while at the same time promoting new destinations in Thailand like Chiang Mai, Ko Chang, Hua Hin and Cha-am.

With visitor arrivals from India totaling 5,06,237 in 2007, a notable increase of 17.80 per cent, India has also caught the attention of TAT, which forecasts 6,00,000 arrivals at the end of this year. Apart from the office in New Delhi, TAT appointed its representative in Mumbai in late 2007 to ensure it would not fail to cash in on the stellar growth of the city’s economy. Apart from attending travel marts held in major cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, TAT will also penetrate the market via smaller-scale marts to generate more awareness for Thailand as a preferred destination. Meanwhile, road shows and other marketing promotion activities in other potential cities will be implemented, allowing operators from Thailand a chance to meet with local tourism-related operators and create a bond between the two sides, which will be beneficial to Thailand’s travel industry in the long run.

Meanwhile, visitors from the Middle East reached 4,53,891 last year, indicating an 11.84 per cent growth from 2006. Tourists from the region often visit Thailand during the green or off-peak season. TAT foresees 4,91,000 arrivals from this group of big spending tourists by the end of this year, which is expected to help beef up foreign exchange revenues of up to Baht 79 billion for the country. To further tap the growing market, TAT has set up its Dubai office in order to oversee marketing activities in 12 countries in the Middle East. Part of the strategy is also to participate in major travel marts organised within the region.

“With the oil prices still negatively affecting the global tourism industry, TAT has shifted its plan to focus more on potential Asian countries, which include, among others, long established markets like Malaysia, Japan and Korea — currently the first, second and third largest markets for Thailand’s tourism industry, respectively. Meanwhile emerging markets like China, the Middle East and India are not to be underestimated. Within a couple of years China has become a major tourism market for Thailand, with visitors reaching the one million mark for the first time last year. India and the Middle East are also showing signs of considerable growth in the years to come,” said Phornsiri Manoharn, Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

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