Tourism Authority of Thailand marketing plan

BANGKOK, Thailand – Minister of Tourism and Sports, HE Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, led TAT’s executives in announcing Thailand’s tourism marketing plan for 2016 at the annual press conference held on

BANGKOK, Thailand – Minister of Tourism and Sports, HE Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, led TAT’s executives in announcing Thailand’s tourism marketing plan for 2016 at the annual press conference held on July 6, 2015 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has finalized its marketing plan for 2016 that will focus on promoting the kingdom as a “Quality Leisure Destination through Thainess.”

The theme of this year’s meeting was ‘Synergy for the Best’ because the entire tourism industry will be joining hands to work together to be able to achieve the country’s goals. The Minister said, “The government is promoting close collaboration among all stakeholders with transparency, synergy and quick action.”

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Sustainable and a well-integrated tourism industry will require close cooperation with the public and private sectors and focus on the 3 R’s:

-Repositioning: Gearing towards tourism quality (Quality Leisure Destination).

-Restructure: Identifying new target markets both in terms of geography and customer segments.

-Rebalance: Attaining a balance between economic, social and environmental development by better spreading the benefits of tourism across Thai society, and reducing the social, cultural and environmental impact.

“In 2016, we are confident that Thailand will remain in the top 3 ranking in terms of international tourism receipts in the Asian region. The targets for 2016, as measured entirely in revenue earnings, are up by 8% over the projected earnings for 2015, or around 2.3 trillion Baht. Also international and domestic tourism will be both up by 8% over the same period, which is above the growth projections for the overall Thai national economy for 2016,” the Minister announced.

Mrs. Juthaporn Rerngronasa, Acting Governor of TAT said, “The 2016 marketing strategy will retain the Amazing Thailand branding logo as well as the “Thainess” identity; concentrate on niche markets; such as, golfers, weddings and honeymoons, health and wellness visitors and ‘halal tourism’ for Muslim visitors, focus on female travellers, and put balanced emphasis on growing the domestic market to prevent over exposure to the international markets.”

Clearly the plan marks the start of a new era for Thai tourism. The wording of the new strategy indicates an end to decades of focussing on “quantity”, as measured by visitor arrivals, and a total shift to “quality” as measured by visitor expenditure, average length of stay, and the overall quality of the visitor experience. All the signs are looking positive.

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Linda Hohnholz

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