Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports visit to Australia and New Zealand

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Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, visited Sydney, Australia, from July 16-18, 2016, and Auckland, New Zealand, from July 18-19, 2016.

Mrs. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, visited Sydney, Australia, from July 16-18, 2016, and Auckland, New Zealand, from July 18-19, 2016.

The purpose of her visit was to meet with selected wholesalers, travel agents and media in Australia and New Zealand to inform them about the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s new strategic policy for 2017.

Both Australia and New Zealand are important sources of visitor arrivals for Thailand. Total arrivals from both countries in 2015 were more than 900,000.
 

Tourism has been recognised as one of Thailand’s most successful economic pillars. TAT is now positioning Thailand as a “Quality Leisure Destination.” This is in line with the national reform plan of the Royal Thai Government and its vision slogan, “Stability, Prosperity, and Sustainability.”

TAT wants to ensure that Thailand is seen as a preferred destination in the minds of Australian and New Zealand visitors. At the same time, visitor arrivals will have to be managed by greater focus on sustainability and management of the natural resources.

In 2017, the target is to raise revenue earnings from international visitors by 10% to 1.89 trillion Baht. TAT’s goal is to offer “Value for Experience” by focusing on “Unique Thai Local Experiences” to entice visitors to explore more of the country and stay longer. The Amazing Thailand brand will remain in place supported by powerful narratives called “Discover Amazing Stories in Amazing Thailand”.

TAT has appointed the prospective 2016 Miss World Australia as the Lady Brand Ambassador for Thailand Tourism. Also, our special Women’s Journey Thailand campaign is set to launch on 1 August, 2016, meaning that women travellers will be able to enjoy a huge range of activities, special offers, discounts and privileges as well as products and services geared to meet their needs throughout the month of August. We have recently launched the Women’s Journey Thailand Application, which can be downloaded from Play Store and iStore. TAT will also launch the promotional material: Travel Guide for Women soon.

Next year, Thailand will be the host country for the Destination Wedding Planners Congress during 2-4 May, 2017, in Phuket.

On 17 July, the Minister visited TAT’s stand at Sydney’s Bridal and Honeymoon Showcase at the Australian Technology Park. During her time in both cities, she also met with senior Thai government officials to discuss ways to better work together to promote Thailand in Australia and New Zealand and to strengthen overall bilateral relationships.


Mrs. Wattanavrangkul was appointed Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports in August 2014. She has been widely recognised as one of Thailand’s most successful businesswomen. Examples of her awards include the “2004 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World (LWEW) Award”, “Thailand Top 100 HR 2007 Award” from the Human Resources Institute – Thammasat University”, and the 2012 Outstanding Business Woman Award” from the Thai Chamber of Commerce. Her last role in the private sector was Chairperson of the Thai Toshiba Group of Companies.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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