As Arrivals Surge, TAT Moves to Prioritise Balanced Marketing Strategy @amazingtourism

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is to boost its emphasis on the balanced marketing strategy in order to promote a better equilibrium between the quality vs quantity of visitor arrivals, travel industry media attending the Thailand Travel Mart Plus were told today. Addressing the media briefing, TAT Deputy Governor for European and American markets, Mrs Juthaporn Rerngronasa said that in January-April 2013, Thailand’s visitor arrivals surged to a record total of 8,841,730, up by 19.04% over the same period of 2012. Visitors from East Asia and ASEAN alone totaled 4.82 million (+28.72%).

Deputy Governor

China’s total of 1.53 million visitor arrivals or (+92.82%) made it the first time that any country had crossed the one million mark in the short span of four months. In 2012, countries such as Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Russia and India also generated more than one million arrivals. The projection for 2013 is more than 24 million arrivals.

These growth figures led to a question from one journalist about the impact it would have on the ground.

In response, Deputy Governor for Asian Markets Sansern Ngaorangsi said that the TAT was conscious of the fact that the rapidly increasing visitor arrivals would have an impact on the environment and that a strategic shift would be necessary in order to preserve the quality of Thai destinations, products and services.

In detail, this will mean attracting more upmarket visitors from abroad and decongesting existing destinations by promoting new and emerging ones, especially in the surrounding provinces of the popular destinations. Mr Sansern said this strategy had already been actioned in the TTM+ Post tours which had focussed on provinces such as Ang Thong, Suphan Buri, Trat, Chanthaburi, Khao Yai, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Kanchanaburi, Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

He said that the TAT would also be stressing the experiential aspect of visiting Thailand, for example, by having people not just to eat Thai food but to learn to cook it, not just to watch Thai boxing but also learn the science and techniques behind it.

The TAT's balanced strategy is designed to maintain a good mix of repeat and first-time travellers, probing new markets while consolidating existing markets, ironing out the peaks and troughs between high and low seasons in arrivals, distributing visitors between our urban and rural areas, and ensuring a good mix of customer segments from High Net Worth Individuals to backpackers.

These principles of balance take into consideration the fact that tourism does not operate in a vacuum but is interlinked with three key external factors – the economy, environment and society – which have to be taken into account.

For more information contact:
Tourism Authority of Thailand, Dubai & Middle East Office
133   Sheikh Zayed Road, Apartment # 1804,
Dusit Thani Dubai,P.O. Box 450019, Dubai, U.A.E
Tel: +971 4 324 0184      Fax: +971 4 325 0187

Email: tatdubai@tat.or.th ; URL: www.TourismThailand-Middleast.org           www.TourismThailand.org