Thailand aims to improve tourism balance
Guest Writers are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the specific writer directly
As visitor arrivals to Thailand surge, the country has said it plans to create a better balance within its tourism sector, attracting a better spread of visitors and promoting a greater number of destinations.
Speaking at the Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) in Bangkok last week, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said it is devising a more balanced marketing strategy, placing a greater emphasis on experiential and rural tourism.
In a media briefing, the TAT’s deputy governor for Europea & America, Juthaporn Rerngronasa, said the country wanted to promote activities such as Thai cookery and Thai boxing, as well as promoting a better balance between urban and rural destinations.
Thailand’s visitor arrivals hit a record total of 8.84 million in the January-April 2013 period, with Chinese arrivals surging 92.8% to 1.53m – the first time that any country has crossed the one million mark within the first four months of a year. All of which has led to questions about the sustainability of Thailand’s tourism industry, and the pressures these increased arrivals are putting on the country’s infrastructure and environment.
To alleviate this, the TAT said its new strategy would aim to iron out the peaks and troughs between high and low seasons, distributing visitors more widely across the country, and ensure a better mix of customer segments, from high-end tourists to backpackers.
As a step towards this, the TTM’s post-event tours included more ‘off-the-beaten-track destinations such as Trat, Chanthaburi, Khao Yai, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Kanchanaburi, Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Comments are closed.