What's Amazing- It's Still Thailand

Thailand is known as a kingdom of wonder brimming with stunning natural, cultural, and historical attractions. But aside from its tourism resources and assets, Thailand has been recognized for its extensive tourism promotions and rousing resistance to national challenges and natural disasters.      

From the 2004 tsunami in Phuket to the recent political standoff in Bangkok, Thailand’s tourism sector has shown an eminent ability of repairing its image before the world. The recent insurgency in Bangkok has impelled restrictive travel advisories and revenue loss but Thailand showed no signs of backing down.

In fact, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is already working towards restoring tourism confidence from foreign tourist markets with the 2010 Thailand Travel Mart (TTM) Plus Amazing Gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) which was held last September 8-10 at the IMPACT Convention Center in Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok.   

TTM is Thailand’s premier annual trade event promoting travel and tourism to Thailand, and neighboring GMS countries, namely: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and the People’s Republic of China. “This event is a great opportunity to update our foreign markets on Thailand’s up and coming products as well as providing a platform for small and medium-sized local entrepreneurs to market their products and services,” said Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

This year, more than 388 local sellers and organizations are taking part in the large-scale trade event with 425 booths including 253 hotels and resorts, 41 travel agents and tour operators, and 14 organizations from the GMS countries. These participants will meet with 335 buyers from 50 major markets including countries in Europe, America, and the Asia-Pacific.

 “Welcoming a large number of international buyers, media, and senior delegates from different parts of the globe is proof that there is still strong confidence in Thailand as one of the leading tourist destinations,” said Svetasreni. During the TTM media briefing, Svetasreni stressed that although tourism in Bangkok has been affected by recent political events, the rest of the country was not affected at all. From January 2010 until the end of July, Thailand has welcomed over 8.7 million foreign visitors, an increase of 13.8 percent over the same period last year.

Thailand’s target for 2010 is over 14 million foreign tourist traffic which is expected to generate a revenue of 530 billion Baht or US$16.5 billion. Svetasreni said TAT is confident that it can reach the mark regardless of recent events or future setbacks.

Thailand’s tourism sector’s quick recovery from recent downturns is largely attributed to the strength of the ‘Amazing Thailand’ brand. “The ‘Amazing Thailand’ theme has gained worldwide recognition. In 2011, TAT will be complementing this theme with the ‘Always Amazes You’ tag line to reinforce the concept of ‘Thainess’ that makes the Kingdom an exceptional destination,” announced Svetasreni.

Also, TAT will pay more attention to promoting domestic travel as this will help reduce Thailand’s dependence on international markets that can be easily affected by events such as global economic downturn or natural disasters. Thematic activities will also be fostered such as golf, diving, wellness, luxury wedding, and honeymoon. Sustainable tourism as well as eco tourism will then be promoted during the off-peak season to turn Thailand into a year-round destination.

However, according to Dr. Kriengpol Padhanarath Ph.D, deputy director–general of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Department, the Thais’ strong emotional connection with people over the world has significantly helped their country rise above every challenge.    

“Thailand is widely known as the Land of Smiles not only for our people’s kindness and hospitality, but also because we come together as a nation smiling and resilient in spite of adversities,” said Dr. Padhanarath. Thailand’s recent debacle with embargos and travel advisories is relatable to the supposed impending backlash on Philippine tourism of the recent travel bans from Hong Kong and China. To this, Dr. Padhanarath graciously shared words of advice for the Philippine government and tourism industry leaders on how to cope with harsh advisories.

“The first step to recovery is facing the fact that there is a problem. After acceptance, the government and private sector should work together to solve this problem and show the world that the Philippines is not defined by an isolated event and (that) it is worth visiting,” he shared.

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