…
 |
|
Mrs Juthaporn Rerngronasa with |
The Tourism Authority of Thailand announced details of its marketing strategy to restore inbound tourism to the Kingdom during the rest of 2009. The strategy includes taking measures to restore visitor confidence, promoting more domestic travel and international visitor arrivals, and tactical marketing measures targeted at key markets including special campaigns and on-line marketing.
“We want everybody to understand clearly that everyday life for the Thai people and visitors to Thailand is back to normal”, said Mrs Juthaporn Rerngronasa, Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications for the Tourism Authority of Thailand. “Our strategy is to let potential visitors know that they can have a worry-free vacation here while enjoying all the value and charm that Thailand offers. Thai people remain warm and smiling, and now is the time to experience all the things visitors love about Thailand”.
Thailand welcomed 14,59 million international visitors in 2008, which brought in around 15 billion US dollars. TAT is projecting 14 million visitor arrivals for 2009. for the first four months of 2009, visitors arrival to Thailand totaled some 3,2 million, down 19% compared to the same period last year. Visitors from the Middle East increased around 11,5% while visitors from South Asia increase 3,6%.
Three key factors have contributed to the decline in tourist arrivals – the global economic downturn, Thailand’s political situation, and the Type A (H1N1) flu virus. TAT is proactively communicating to potential visitors to ensure their correct understanding of each factor.
To reinforce Thailand’s well-entrenched position as offering value for money, TAT introduced the “Amazing Thailand Amazing Value” campaign. Thailand is well recognized as a high- quality, high-value travel destination. Futurebrand’s Country Brand Index (CBI) ranked Thailand as the world’s best ‘Brand’ in terms of value for money for 2008, the third consecutive year for this award. The UK Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer, released in January 2009, showed that the coasts of meals, drinks and other tourist items are 41% lower in Thailand than the lowest-priced destination in the Eurozone. In May 2009, the CNN Online Consumer Survey (OCS) chose Thailand as representing the best value for money for travelers in the Asia-Pacific region. This survey was conducted with more than 5,000 respondents globally.
Regarding the political situation, the country has stabilized as Thai government focuses on bringing about national reconciliation. "Even given the recent political events, the uniqueness, variety, and quality of Thailand’s tourist attractions, as well as hospitality of the Thai people, have not changed. Thailand continues to welcome visitors with open arms”, said Mrs. Juthaporn.
She added that, using the experience gained during the SARS outbreak a few years ago, the Thai government has implemented rapid response measures that have kept Type A (H1N1) in check, so visitors do not need to be overly concerned about the flu when travel here.
Under its strategy, TAT is focusing on increasing visitors from four key markets:
- “Ready to Travel” Markets such as Scandinavia, India, Russia, Indonesia, and some Middle Eastern countries, where people are not sensitive to Thailand’s political situation, still have considerable purchasing power, and are inclined to travel;
- “Potentially Returning Visitor” Markets, which covers many countries in Europe and the United States. People in these markets like Thailand but are more concerned about the political situation and are more affected by the global economic downturn;
- “Concerned Traveller” Markets, including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and Australia. People in these markets consider Thailand a convenient tourist destination but have greater reservations about visiting due to the political situation.
- “Highly Sensitive Traveller” Markets including Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, where people are the most sensitive to Thailand’s political stability. They also have suffered a deeper economic downturn due to their close ties with the US economy.
TAT will develop customized campaigns for each of these markets to ensure potential visitors umderstand the current situation in Thailand and build their confidence in the Kingdom. It will reinforce the value of money that Thailand offers and highlight the many attractions and experiences that can be found in Thailand.
The campaign, which will run for the remainder of 2009, will include trade shows and road shows to key overseas markets. There will be a road show to China in June, then to Korea, India, Taiwan, Dubai, and Russia late in the year. TAT’s on-line marketing campaign will feature real-time CCTV streams from Thailand’s top tourist attractions and build connections with potential visitors through social media, online events, and e-newsletters.
“Although we are now focused on overcoming the challenges that face Thailand’s tourism sector, Thailand’s future as a travel destination remains very promising. The Kingdom will steadily become more appealing as we develop our tourism products further. We will focus on building Thailnd’s lead in areas such as medical tourism as well as developing innovative travel products and experiences in areas; such a, wellness tourism, Thainess tourism such as eco-tour programmes, social tourism, cultural and historical travel, weddings and honeymoons, cycling tours, and 72-hour weekend breaks for nearby markets", said Mrs. Juthaporn.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
