ATTA plans big moves

BANGKOK Association of Thai Travel Agents leaders say they have adopted a “Big Move” slogan to show members it will reorganise the association to become more efficient and also to revitalise tourism in the country.
ATTA president, Charoen Wangananont, said the association has proposed a stronger set of tourism policies to Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul in order to boost inbound travel.
“The plans present eight proposals to develop tourism…the exact detail of each project will be explained to members month by month.”
The eight projects are:
Establish of tourism research and development institution;
Provide Do’s and Don’ts manual for Chinese tourists in Thailand;
E-Visa project to ease congestion and reduce the process at airport immigration;
Gain support for a European market mega fam-trip;
Win backing for the AEC+6 Total Tourism Expo project
Plan China Road Show programme
Organise “Thailand’s Tourism Industry in the Context of the Emerging AEC” seminar
Plan a Thailand Tourism Tomorrow project
inside no 2The president said: “The association plans to work with experts from public organisations and a group of academics to set up a national tourism research and development centre, to build better data and respond quickly to unforeseen incidents.”
Furthermore, the association will continue to enhance local skills and improve workers competencies, which is a key element for Thai tourism development, he said.
ATTA is expected to focus more on Asian markets, especially ASEAN, in a bid to increase the number of intra-regional arrivals.
“ATTA will work with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and tourism associations in Southeast Asia to organise an AEC+6 Total Tourism Connectivity project aimed at facilitating the exchange and transfer of tourists among member countries,” he said.
Apart from ASEAN bodies, tourism associations in China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India are key targets for the project.
The E-Visa is a key factor to facilitate tourists and reduce the immigration process at airports prioritising on neighbouring countries and China. For example it would allow Chinese visitors to gain a visa in advance without having to contact the nearest embassy in China, or apply for a visa-on-arrival, which causes long queues and delays at airports.
Myanmar has led the field in Southeast Asia developing a very user-friendly E-visa system that is a model for other ASEAN nationals to consider.
In addition, ATTA would take representatives of tour operators and hotels, as well as travel entrepreneurs, to attend major international tourism trade shows. The shows are: CITB 2015 (27 May to 5 June 2015), ITB Asia 2015 (21 to 23 October 2015), WTM London 2015 (2 to 5 November 2015), ATF 2016 (18 to 25 January 2016), and ITB Berlin 2016 (9 to 13 March 2016).

sourced:ttrweekly.com