“Happy” Thailand outlines tourism recovery drive

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has outlined a major marketing plan as it tries to recover some of the ground lost during the recent protests and coup.

The tourism board is targeting an estimated THB2.2 trillion (US$68 billion) in tourism revenues in 2015, including THB1.4trn from international visitors and THB800bn from domestic tourists. To achieve this, the TAT said it will promote the concepts of “Thainess, happiness, sustainability”, in an effort to restore visitors’ confidence in Thailand.

“In 2013, Thailand’s tourism revenue was ranked sixth in the world and third in Asia by the World Tourism Organisation. TAT is dedicated to make this ranking higher in 2015,” TAT governor Thawatchai Arunyik said.

“We must walk together, grow together. We plan to step up cooperation with a broad network of partners both within Thailand and abroad to get people travelling to and within Thailand. We aim to convey the ‘Thai way of happiness’ and deliver the ‘fun factor’ for which Thailand is very well known.”

To achieve this, the TAT will organise a series of events. These will kick off in October 2014 with the Thailand Music Festival, and will continue in December with the ‘Thailand Happiness Carnival’.

The domestic travel marketing plan will see 10 Thai cities categorised as ‘Must Visit Cities’ in 2015, while the TAT will promote domestic travel during weekdays, rather than just over weekends and national holidays.

In the international arena, a new global tagline, ‘Amazing Thailand: Happiness Within’ will be targeted at both first-time and repeat visitors. There will also be a focus on secondary cities and special-interest markets, such as golf, honeymoon and weddings, health and wellness and ecotourism.

“Next year’s targets are very challenging, but TAT believes that with good cooperation and professionalism from all sectors here, we can step forward to reach the target, based on a common vision and sense of purpose,” Thawatchai concluded.