Tourism Authority of Thailand opens second India office in Mumbai

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) New Delhi Office announced that TAT will open its second India office in the city of Mumbai on November 2, 2009.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) New Delhi Office announced that TAT will open its second India office in the city of Mumbai on November 2, 2009. This expansion is to accommodate the rapid growth of the Indian tourist outbound travel to Thailand.

With the opening of the Mumbai Office, TAT will have its second full office in south Asia ever since TAT New Delhi Office began operations in 2003. The Mumbai office will allow TAT to better serve travel agents, airlines, tourism offices, and consumers in this region of the world as it adds another marketing team and more budget for activities.

Statistics showed that from January to September 2009, Indian arrivals at Suvarnabhumi Airport totaled 405,334 persons, an increase of 2.45 percent over the same period in 2008. Similarly, arrivals into Thailand from Bangladesh (36,640 – +5.83 percent), Sri Lanka (31,925 – +9.60 percent), Nepal (18,944 – +21.49 percent), and Bhutan (9,319 – +14.71 percent) all registered a healthy growth over the past 9 months. The trend is positive, with Indian arrivals expected at 530,000 for the entire 2009 and other markets also faring well.

THe TAT Mumbai office will be responsible for Thailandโ€™s tourism marketing activities in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa; the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry; and the countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. TAT New Delhi will be responsible for all other Indian states and territories, as well as the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. Both TAT Mumbai and TAT New Delhi answer directly to TAT Head Office in Bangkok.

TAT Mumbai officeโ€™s first director will be Mr. Sethaphan Buddhani, formerly director of TAT Phuket Office. The assistant director will be Ms. Suladda Sarutilavan from the ASEAN, south Asia and south Pacific region marketing division in TAT Head office, Bangkok. The office is complemented by Charson Advisory, which will be TAT Mumbaiโ€™s marketing and public relations arm for 2010.

Speaking about this November launch of the Mumbai Office, Mr. Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, director of the TAT New Delhi office said: โ€œThe opening represents a major milestone for Thai tourism in south Asia. It shows the regionโ€™s and especially Indiaโ€™s great importance as a source tourist market for Thailand and reflects Thailandโ€™s commitment to provide better and faster service to travel agents, airlines, tourist businesses, and all travelers. Simply put, it signifies a new and exciting chapter in tourism promotion of the kingdom in India and neighboring countries.โ€

TAT Mumbai hopes to announce its permanent office location and contact details in the city soon. In the meantime, all inquiries can be directed to Charson Advisory at tel. 022-65172274, fax 022-22828835, e-mail: [email protected] , or [email protected] .

About TAT
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) was established on March 18, 1960. TAT was the first organization in Thailand to be specifically responsible for the promotion of tourism.

TAT supplies information and data on tourist areas to the public, publicizes Thailand with the intention of encouraging both Thai and international tourists to travel in and around Thailand, conducts studies to set development plans for tourist destinations, and cooperates with and supports the production and development of personnel in the field of tourism.

Since the inception of the first local office of TAT in Chiang Mai in 1968, there are now 35 regional offices throughout Thailand. TAT has also established many overseas offices the first being in New York, which was opened in 1965. During the past 30 years, TAT has since established 21 more offices in different parts of the world.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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