With political tensions still present in Bangkok, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai AirAsia are campaigning to boost domestic tourism in a bid to strengthen regional destinations.
BANGKOK- “All Out Fun! Discover Thailand with AirAsia”. The new slogan was launched by Thai AirAsia and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) which joined hands together to organize a campaign to promote travel to the north, northeast and south of Thailand. The “All Out Fun! Discover Thailand with AirAsia” campaign will seek to enliven Thai travel in 3 regions with low fares starting from 555THB per way, all inclusive of airport tax and fees. Tickets must be booked from 19 to 23 February 2014 for travel during 20 February-30 June 2014.
In the past, during turbulent times, TAT ramped up promotion campaign towards the domestic market. “This is not totally the case this time. We know that we already lost some Asian tourists in the first quarter. The 2nd quarter might be also flat if political problems continue. But we expect a strong bounce back in the third and fourth quarter”, indicated Thawatchai Aranyik, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
“We also target Thai living in Bangkok. Many of them are feeling uncomfortable to go out in town during the protests. Our packages will entice them to just escape and enjoy a more relaxing atmosphere in Thai regions. We expect the “All Out Fun! Discover Thailand with AirAsia” will attract between 40,000 and 100,000 flyers”, highlighted Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO Thai AirAsia. The campaign could generate at least over THB 300 million in sales (US$ 9 million).
Thawatchai Aranyik indicated that the promotion with AirAsia is in fact part of a long established TAT Tourism Marketing Plan for 2014, which involves joining hands with travel allies to design effective and creative tourism campaigns. “We also work with other Thai carriers to promote regions”, he said.
While the campaign targets mostly Thai tourists (posters and advertising will only be in Thai), the promotion is open to anyone. “It will be in English on our website. Of course, every traveller staying in Thailand can benefit from our incredible offer”, added Tassapon Bijleveld.
AirAsia currently flies to 14 domestic destinations that cover the north, northeast and southern regions and provides convenient connections between key locations such as Chiang Mai-Krabi and Phuket-Udon Thani. The airline also works with local operators to provide shuttle services from Phitsanulok to Sukhothai and from Chiang Mai to Pai. Ferry services in the South Sea are provided to islands such as Samui, Phangan, Phi Phi, Lipe, Ngai and Yao Noi.
The current turmoil in Bangkok has seen an increase of tourist activities to provinces. “We know that destinations such as Samui, Phuket, Pattaya and Hua Hin but also Chiang Mai have been alternative destinations for foreign travellers”, indicated TAT Governor. A trend that is confirmed by Thai AirAsia: “We see more travellers in transit through Bangkok to secondary destinations within Thailand, especially as we promote our new seamless transfer service here at Don Mueang Airport. But we are also considering to offer more international destinations or services out of provinces”, added Thai AirAsia CEO Bijleveld.
Photo caption: Thawatchai Aranyik and Tassapon Bijleveld
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
