The recent political agitations in the country have dented the image of Thailand in the international market. What are the damage control actions have you taken?
Thailand in the recent past has witnessed many crisis situations and hence it is essential that the destination holds a PR as well as crisis management plan at every level.
In Thailand there is a separate division called the Tourism Authority of Thailand Intelligence Unit and Crisis Communication Centre
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which serves as an operations centre for state and private sector consultative meetings and joint planning sessions. This enables Tourism Authority of Thailand and representative from the Thai tourism industry to be regularly updated. Tourism Authority of Thailand works strongly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Thailand Government which in turn provides all other offices up to date information on the destination.
With regular updates, Charson Advisory Services, Mumbai – our PR & Marketing arm, with their depth familiarity, expertise and awareness of the Indian travel trade and media helps us faucet the right medium with regular updates, newsletter and other important information which is circulated across the entire spectrum.
Further they help us in organizing regular educational visits to Thailand for all spheres of the media.
Which are the main markets for Thailand tourism? Could you please give us the break-up regarding foreign tourist arrivals?
The main markets for Thailand tourism are United Kingdom, Sweden, Scandinavian countries, Japan, China and last but not the least India. Every year Thailand witnesses a higher number of Indian tourist arrivals.
In the year of 2009 we witnessed an excellent escalation, where Thailand secured a tourist arrival of 605,579 from India. Thailand has experienced in March 2010 a total of 985,518 travellers that arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport as compared to last year March 2009. There has been a growth of about 17.63 per cent in the month of March.
How significant is the contribution of tourism to the economy of Thailand? Could you please give us the details?
Like India, Thailand is culturally and historically rich. Our latest marketing strategy is to promote Thailand as an Amazing Value for money destination.
Here you can experience the seven amazing wonders of Thailand namely thainess, treasure products, beaches, nature, health and wellness, trendy and festivities for an amazing value. Places like Phuket, Hua Hin and Krabi provide scenic beauty and beckons the beach lovers whereas Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ayutthaya and Kanchanaburi attract the culture lovers.
Thailand caters to all segments of travelers and the government has thus realized the importance of tourism to the economy of Thailand.
