Big players in Thai travel industry meet for ground-breaking media conference and set tourism goals

BANGKOK – The biggest players in Thailand’s tourism industry recently gathered together in a “Thai Travel Industry Media Conference” to assess the period of January to June of 2016 in terms of tourism arrivals and spending and to share their ideas and campaigns to boost local and international tourism over the next few months and long into the future.

 

Heads of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), and the Thai Hotels Associations (THA) met together in a ground-breaking media conference that was regarded by all parties as a great success and of vital use for the kingdom’s tourist industry. It is expected that a similar event will now be held every quarter to look at the state of tourism in Thailand and to coordinate strategies between the main agencies.

 

 

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of TAT announced the TAT’s arrival figures so far this year and said that in the first half of 2016 some 1.24 trillion Baht has been raised by 16.67 million tourists, numbers that are up 13 per cent over the same period last year. 416 billion Baht of the total has come from domestic tourism with 75 million trips having been taken by locals, up 4 per cent on last year. The biggest international tourist markets by continent so far this year have been Northeast Asia (+18 per cent), the Americas (+ 13 per cent), ASEAN (+10 per cent), Europe (+9 per cent) and the Middle East and South Asia (+8 per cent each) with the Australasia numbers dropping by 2 per cent.

 

Mr. Ittirit Kinglake, President of the Tourism Council of Thailand said that Thailand’s tourist industry looked set to enjoy good growth thanks to a determined effort to by the government and a rise in domestic tourism. Meanwhile, Ms. Supawan Tanomkieatipum, President of the Thai Hotels Association said that 2016 had been a great year so far with Thai hotels having an occupancy rate of 75-85 per cent in the 1st quarter and 70 per cent in the 2nd quarter. Levels of 80-85 per cent are expected in the 3rd quarter due to strong forward bookings. Hotels in Phuket and the South have performed best followed by Chiang Mai, and Bangkok. In addition, Mr. Charoen Wangananont, President of the Association of Thai Travel Agents said his members had had a great 2016 so far with ATTA members looking set to reach the target of over six million tourists using their services.

 

At the Thai Travel Industry Media Conference, there were also discussions about the short- and long-term future of the industry. TAT is preparing to launch several campaigns to boost visitor numbers, especially in niche markets. There will be a ’70 Routes Following the Queen of Thailand’s footprints’ campaign to encourage domestic travel; a Women’s Journey Thailand campaign to encourage women to travel and to celebrate the 7th cycle Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen and a Making Merit campaign to boost family group travel and attract the senior market. A ‘Thai Tiew Thai’ activity under the ‘Ruam Jai Tiew Thai’ campaign, which was initiated in May with the aim of boosting demand for domestic travel, will continue.

 

All members of the Conference agreed that there should be a drive to arrange more seasonal events and festivals, promote domestic tourism and attract higher spending tourists, especially in niche sectors; such as, sports, medicine and MICE. There also needs to be an improvement in infrastructure and tourist facilities to improve travel experiences, communications and tourists’ safety.

 

 

Photo caption: Senior executives from Thailand’s four leading tourism organisations