Tourism makes comeback

BANGKOK  Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects Thailand’s tourism will recover next year to record 29 million visits and generate THB2.2 trillion in revenue.
Tourism Minister, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, said next year has been designated “Discover Thainess Year”, with a campaign to promote domestic tourism throughout 2015 that will focus on the Thai way of life. The campaign should help to improve income distribution and disparity in the provinces.
“The 2015 Discover Thainess campaign will encourage foreigners to appreciate the essence of ‘Thainess’ through touching the Thai way of life, Thai culture and Thai experiences. The distinctive facets of “Thainess” are tourism magnets that draws tourists to explore and enjoy experiences with local Thai communities.”
“It will offer new aspects of Thailand to potential repeat tourists and encourage them to stay longer,” she explained.
inside no 7The ministry also plans to rebrand five sites as quality destinations to boost high-spend tourists. The five sites are Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Surat Thani’s Pha Ngan island and Nan.
Bangkok will be presented as a destination for world heritage and river cruises to complement other activities such as shopping, dining, weekend getaways, history and culture appreciation. Bangkok does not have any official World Heritage sites. The nearest one is Ayutthaya some 70 km north of the capital.
Pattaya, notorious for its nightlife, will be re-engineered to take on the role of a world-class sports and family destination.
Pha Ngan island, host to monthly full-moon parties, will be turned into a Thai-style party hub minus the excesses of drugs. The idea is to attract foreigners to come and experience genuine Thainess.
In Phuket, premium cruising and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) business will counter balance beach and dive activities.
Nan a hilly province in the North is an emerging destination in the North mainly attracting domestic tourists. It will be developed as an eco-tourism magnet focusing on cycling and retiree tourism.
Nan is definitely off the international tourism map when compared to other northern destinations such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The move to publicise it without establishing a sustainable criteria is risky as the charm of the town is its quiet laidback lifestyle that could easily be lost as tourism takes hold.
The minister said: “If officials can achieve rebranding and repositioning of all five destinations next year as planned, it would not only raise their image as a quality destination, but also attract quality tourists and make them want to extend their stay.”
inside no 7.1Last year, the average length of stay in Thailand was 9.85 days. Spending per day, per head was USD150.23 or THB4,616.
The minister added the ministry had drafted a one-year plan that aimed to establish fundamentals for long-term growth.
“The ministry has a timeline to work through next year, starting in the first quarter with surveys and obtaining information before kicking off test runs for pilot projects. After seeing the results in the third quarter, we will put them into implementation if the pilot projects run well.”
She said there were opportunities to develop packages for the elderly, medical and healthcare tourism, sports training, movie production and hosting world-class events.
More than 50% of foreign tourists are repeat visitors, she claimed.
The core principle is to shift the focus from the current six most popular destinations — Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Samui and Pattaya — to other provinces.
“Building new attractions in the provinces requires the full cooperation from local people and administrative bodies. The ministry will then ask key ministries such as Transport, National Resources and Environment, and Culture for help.”
This year should close with 25.5 million visits and THB1.8 trllion in tourism revenue. The original target was 28 million and THB2 trillion in revenue, but political discords, months of protests, a military coup and martial law scuttled efforts to reach the target.

sourced:ttrweekly.com