TAT rolls out ‘Thais Always Care’ online communication campaign

[webfact]

 

Sending out invitation to the world that Thailand and its people are always ready to welcome tourists with CARE, reflecting the kingdom’s renowned hospitality and warmth to visitors.

 

Bangkok, 13 January 2024 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in collaboration with the Tourist Police Bureau, Grab Taxi (Thailand), and Central Pattana (CPN), officially rolled out the latest “Thais Always Care” online communication campaign to ensure that tourists from around the world enjoy seamless travel experiences and feel safe and welcome in Thailand.

Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, TAT Governor, said “The ‘Thais Always Care’ campaign is an open communication with Thais and foreign tourists, especially those from China, which has been a key source market for Thailand. We want to share with the world Thailand’s ongoing efforts to raise safety standards in the travel and tourism industry, as well as the kingdom’s endless charms as a desirable destination for tourists to come and enjoy memorable, meaningful travel experiences.”

 

Under the ‘Land of CARE’ concept, the ‘Thais Always Care’ campaign reflects Thailand’s renowned hospitality and warmth to visitors and strengthens the image of Thais as a good host for tourists.

 

 

CARE stands for: Compassion – reflecting the generosity of the Thai people; Assistant – referring to Thais as being a good host and are ready to help tourists when in need; Relief – indicating Thailand as a perfect holiday destination where tourists can relax and explore a wealth of enjoyable travel experiences; and Elevate – highlighting Thailand’s ongoing efforts to raise tourism and safety standards.

 

TAT initially unveiled the campaign in December 2023 during the high-profile press conference, spearheaded by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, that highlighted the commitment from 12 public agencies to work together to facilitate the anticipated millions of travellers on the move in the festive season.

 

BureauColonel Somchai Theerapatrpaisan, Deputy Commander of General Staff Division, Tourist Police Bureau, said “The Tourist Police is set to step up the safety and security measures in a full effort by implementing technology to assist foreign tourists. This includes using a Tourist Police mobile truck to communicate with tourists and live broadcast the situation to the bureau of the Thai Tourist Police. Also, the ‘POLICE I LERT U’ application which offers several languages such as English, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, French, German, and Arab helps connect foreign tourists with the 24-hour emergency centre 1155. This also serves as a coordinating centre for international organisations and embassies to provide immediate assistance to international tourists.”

 

Mr. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Executive Vice President, Marketing at CPN, said “CPN is poised to become a comprehensive Tourist Hub. Therefore, we have strengthened the safety measures covering the entire department store by installing CCTV cameras and implementing a strict inspection of visitors and vehicles as well as bag checking at the entrance. Also, security guards have consistently been trained to tackle the emergency and unprecedented incidents.”

 

Mr. Worachat Luxkanalode, Country Head of Grab Thailand, said “Safety is our top priority to us. Grab has continuously developed technology to enhance confidence as well as all steps of passengers’ experiences such as implementing a strict partner driver selection system, using an AI-Powered Facial Authentication, arranging online training for driving safely, employing real-time trip monitoring featuring GPS to track vehicle, and providing a safety centre feature to share a real-time location and provide assistance in case of emergency. We hope that these features will strengthen the traveller’s confidence and shape the impressive experience of travelling in Thailand.”

 

The ‘Thais Always Care’ campaign will involve bringing the leading international KOLs to enhance the positive image of Thailand’s tourism assets and soft powers as well as reinforce Thailand’s image as a safe destination. The targeted audiences are local and foreign tourists including Chinese travellers. This campaign is expected to garner 100 million impressions.

 

Source: TAT NEWS 2024-01-13

 

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[fondue zoo]

The guy on the far right looks like a character from GTA.

[fondue zoo]

3 minutes ago, webfact said:

“The ‘Thais Always Care’ campaign

 

...unless you get involved in an accident, are foreign, then not so much?

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, fondue zoo said:

 

...unless you get involved in an accident, are foreign, then not so much?

 

No, Thais are usually very kind to foreigners who've had accidents. If they can help, like helping him/her off the street to safety, picking up the bike, moving it etc. If possible; sometimes calling police and an ambulance is about all to be done.

[yang123]

4 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

The guy on the far right looks like a character from GTA.

I thought Rolf Harris was dead?

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Sending out invitation to the world that Thailand and its people are always ready to welcome tourists with CARE, reflecting the kingdom’s renowned hospitality and warmth to visitors.

Please ensure lifebelts are worn and fitted correctly at all times.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, BigStar said:

 

No, Thais are usually very kind to foreigners who've had accidents. If they can help, like helping him/her off the street to safety, picking up the bike, moving it etc. If possible; sometimes calling police and an ambulance is about all to be done.

I was in a local market one day and flagged down Win rider on the corner. He came over, picked me up and off we went down the centre of the road. At the junction we had to stop for vehicles crossing.

We started to tilt to the right and I wondered what he was doing?

Still going over I stepped off backwards and he fell flat in the road.

Suddenly surrounded but several local vendors they picked him up and the bike, when I noticed his artificial leg laying under the bike.

It had become detached and fell off. 

They said it happens at least once a week.. nothing unusual.

 

[BigStar]

33 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I was in a local market one day and flagged down Win rider on the corner. He came over, picked me up and off we went down the centre of the road. At the junction we had to stop for vehicles crossing.

We started to tilt to the right and I wondered what he was doing?

Still going over I stepped off backwards and he fell flat in the road.

Suddenly surrounded but several local vendors they picked him up and the bike, when I noticed his artificial leg laying under the bike.

It had become detached and fell off. 

They said it happens at least once a week.. nothing unusual.

 

 

One reason I love living in Thailand is the experience of these priceless and often touching situations, characters, and stories.

[quake]

Thais Always Care, about money

is more like it.

[sammieuk1]

I once asked in a phone call to Thai Airways why is excess baggage so expensive at £35 per kilo the call was cut and my email with conformation was blocked. so they may have a ways to go in the customer service aera🤔

[StayinThailand2much]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Thais Always Care

 

... about $$$$

[PETERTHEEATER]

TACky.......

[mancub]

About as nauseating as the RTP slogan " To serve and protect" .

[Nigeone]

Sadly no they don’t. Rural areas yes but tourist places not so. The old money ‘No 1’ rational comes to the fore . 

[mikebell]

23 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

 

...unless you get involved in an accident, are foreign, then not so much?

+ daily we read about Thais caring for family members with guns and knives, or rival school gangs or warring motor taxi drivers.

[BigStar]

14 hours ago, Nigeone said:

Sadly no they don’t. Rural areas yes but tourist places not so. The old money ‘No 1’【30 cm】 rational comes to the fore . 

 

Happily, yes they do. Have encountered plenty of kindness over the years in Pattaya. True, the population does have to put up with a never-ending tide of farang idiots who create a bad impression. 

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

+ daily we read about Thais caring for family members with guns and knives, or rival school gangs or warring motor taxi drivers.

 

What do you get out of this constant silly bashing? Grow up.

[BigStar]

19 hours ago, quake said:

Thais Always Care, about money

is more like it.

 

The problem is that our old bigots here grew up expecting that their natural superiority would engender nothing but beneficent love and servility from their dark inferiors in the Third World. Flip a few satang for rice and bask in the smiles. 

 

 

Then--horrors! The locals refuse to accept their inferiority and refuse constantly to kiss the b*tts of their masters ordained by Nature.

 

So our old bigots, never able to get over the disappointment and disillusionment, spend their days bashing Thailand, trying to reassure themselves, confounded they're not getting what Thais owe them, just for being their lovable selves. 

 

Meanwhile, despite decades of whinging on the inernet by our "informed" posters, sounding the alarm, revealing the awful Truth, Thailand remains one of the world's top tourist destinations, and Pattaya Ranks 7th Globally in Top Emerging Destinations List in 2024. Younger generations seem to lack the colonial mentality.

 

 

Edited January 14 by BigStar

[Final Farang]

27 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

The problem is that our old bigots here grew up expecting that their natural superiority would engender nothing but beneficent love and servility from their dark inferiors in the Third World. Flip a few satang for rice and bask in the smiles. 

 

 

Then--horrors! The locals refuse to accept their inferiority and refuse constantly to kiss the b*tts of their masters ordained by Nature.

 

So our old bigots, never able to get over the disappointment and disillusionment, spend their days bashing Thailand, trying to reassure themselves, confounded they're not getting what Thais owe them, just for being their lovable selves. 

 

Meanwhile, despite decades of whinging on the inernet by our "informed" posters, sounding the alarm, revealing the awful Truth, Thailand remains one of the world's top tourist destinations, and Pattaya Ranks 7th Globally in Top Emerging Destinations List in 2024. Younger generations seem to lack the colonial mentality.

 

 

Like most foreigners here I just want to be charged the same as locals, not be actively ignored by staff when entering an establishment, not be a prime target for scams and not treated as a transient criminal by immigration after a decade of employing locals and paying more taxes than most Thais pay in their lifetime. I don't want anyone to worship the ground I walk on, I just want to be treated with the same decency that Thais extend to each other. 

[proton]

19 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

I once asked in a phone call to Thai Airways why is excess baggage so expensive at £35 per kilo the call was cut and my email with conformation was blocked. so they may have a ways to go in the customer service aera🤔

 

You were lucky they even answered the phone

[BigStar]

26 minutes ago, Final Farang said:

Like most foreigners here I just want to be charged the same as locals,

 

Yes, you want to. :) Dual pricing has been debated on the forum for many years. As many posters have argued, t's not really clear, except in your own mind, that you necessarily deserve the same price as locals pay. Nor is realistic to expect that everyone's tax returns be audited at the entrances to national parks. You may take that discussion to one of the many threads on the topic.

 

29 minutes ago, Final Farang said:

not be actively ignored by staff when entering an establishment

 

I'm not actively ignored because I'm obviously friendly, give a smile, and greet the staff in Thai. Distinguishes me from the idiots and overcomes their reluctance to engage, owing to several reasons. And staff ignore Thais as well, so that's fair, important to your concern for justice.

 

32 minutes ago, Final Farang said:

ot be a prime target for scams

 

Scammers are always equal opportunity scammers. And what you think of as scam may be simply charging what the market will bear, something socialists don't understand. 

 

34 minutes ago, Final Farang said:

not treated as a transient criminal by immigration after a decade of employing locals and paying more taxes than most Thais pay in their lifetime.

 

I've always been treated politely and professionally by Immigration, and I treat the IOs with great respect from the start of our encounters. Never a problem, my papers are always in order, and I always follow the rules strictly without whinging. It's beginning to appear that there's something about you causing negative reactions, while you're of course blaming Thais. 

 

36 minutes ago, Final Farang said:

just want to be treated with the same decency that Thais extend to each other. 

 

You can be treated more like a Thai when you speak Thai, adopt a respectful, friendly attitude at all times, adopt Thai manners, and in general just act like a "decent" Thai person. As it is, you're being treated decently for the outsider you are and aren't owed anything more.

 

In contrast to your experience, I've always been treated decently and Thais have often extended extra courtesy just because they realize I don't know what's going on because I'm a foreigner. Be careful what you wish for. You may be glad sometimes you're not being treated like a Thai. 

 

[LivingNThailand]

On 1/13/2024 at 9:30 AM, webfact said:

is an open communication with Thais and foreign tourists, especially those from China, which has been a key source market for Thailand

Especially from China?  Why?  Before I moved here eight years ago, I must have made two trips a year to Bangkok / Phuket for about 30 years.  Personally,   I didn't really see a big influx of Chinese visitors until about 2014, and that ended in 2020.  Why, or why, does the government go on and on about the Chinese?   It's a big world out there, guys.  Lots of other countries.  The knee-jerk back-and-forth programs make the government look panicky and desperate.   BTW, that is a rhetorical question, I really don't expect a rational answer.

[Scouse123]

43 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

 

In contrast to your experience, I've always been treated decently and Thais have often extended extra courtesy just because they realize I don't know what's going on because I'm a foreigner. Be careful what you wish for. You may be glad sometimes you're not being treated like a Thai. 

 

 

 

Well, That paragraph is definitely true.

 

There have been a number of occasions when I have wished that I didn't understand what they were saying.

 

 

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, Final Farang said:

Like most foreigners here I just want to be charged the same as locals, not be actively ignored by staff when entering an establishment, not be a prime target for scams and not treated as a transient criminal by immigration after a decade of employing locals and paying more taxes than most Thais pay in their lifetime. I don't want anyone to worship the ground I walk on, I just want to be treated with the same decency that Thais extend to each other. 

 

First, it's a big ask expecting to be charged the same as the locals when it is in bred into them to charge you more because in their small minds, you can afford it, just the same as a Thai coming and buying something in Isaarn who comes from Bangkok, that doesn't know the price of something.

 

Sometimes you can be ignored entering an establishment as the Thais do not feel their English is up to standard to converse with you.

 

Scams are worldwide and cross all boundaries of race, nationality and colour.

 

Immigration, a tricky one, you can have bright smiling IO's or surly horrible ones. Luck of the draw, on who you meet, and what side of the bed they got out of.

 

You are paying taxes for doing business, it is the price you pay in every country. It's nothing to do with the' Thai in the street '

 

Contrary to your belief, Thais do not automatically give respect or decency to other Thais, it's a mechanism for dealing with people, and they are good at hiding their feelings.......usually!

[Scouse123]

4 hours ago, mikebell said:

+ daily we read about Thais caring for family members with guns and knives, or rival school gangs or warring motor taxi drivers.

 

Or killing their parents for refusing to give them money to buy drugs, or stealing/cheating land from their relatives.

 

It's really best to keep your head down and focus purely on what you are doing, and the needs of those close to you.

 

Neither listen nor get involved with outside influences in this country, it always leads to disaster.

 

One thing I have learned here,' Everybody knows how to make a lot of money with somebody else's cash '

[BigStar]

55 minutes ago, LivingNThailand said:

The knee-jerk back-and-forth programs make the government look panicky and desperate. 

 

Chinese have been courted for many years for obvious and perfectly understandable reasons. Nothing new about that; always forth, never back.

 

A tourist agency, or any marketing department, never stays static but is always coming up with new campaigns. You can watch any retail site--Lotus, Big C, Central--to see them changing promotions and targets. Normal business, not knee-jerk at all. In part that's cause the market itself is always changing, and it'd be stupid not to respond and attempt to cash in if possible. We seem to be living in Pyongyang here.

 

Normal business, nothing knee-jerk.

 

One of the classic Principles of ANF Economics is that of No Change. Some business changes something to meet market demand--without first consulting our Economists and explaining--it means it's going bankrupt and desperate. If it's in a shopping mall, that means the entire mall is struggling. Here we merely have a new marketing campaign, and it means that Thailand is now in panic and desperate. The much-prophesied End Of Tourism is nigh, owing to--oh, you know, our fave hobbyhorses. Somehow, Thailand's got to bring back them great Golden Egg Layers who ran out of golden eggs.

 

Edited January 14 by BigStar

[BigStar]

9 hours ago, LivingNThailand said:

The knee-jerk back-and-forth programs make the government look panicky and desperate.   

 

Is the UK rolling out knee-jerk back-and-forth programs? Few years ago they had they came out with the I Travel For campaign. Then last year they CHANGED to the See Things Differently campaign. WOT??? Panic? Then they decided to emphasize France, Gemany, and the GCC. WOT??? Desperation? It's a big world out there. 'Course, China has a helluva lot more tourists than those combined.

 

National tourism agency VisitBritain is kicking off the next stage of its marketing campaigns in France, Germany and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to boost tourism across Britain’s nations and regions with a focus on off peak and shoulder season travel.

     --https://www.visitbritain.org/visitbritain-kicks-next-phase-campaign-france-germany-and-gcc-countries-boost-tourism-britain

 

Is the UK panicky and desperate? How come we're pretending that all countries' tourist agencies don't do the same thing as Thailand's does?

 

[jacko45k]

On 1/13/2024 at 9:35 AM, fondue zoo said:

 

...unless you get involved in an accident, are foreign, then not so much?

Will they be refunding me for the booking they cancelled pre-Covid in March 2020 now then?

Edited January 14 by jacko45k

[fondue zoo]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Will they be refunding me for the booking they cancelled pre-Covid in March 2020 now then?

 

 

                      It doesn't look good.

 

[fondue zoo]

20 hours ago, BigStar said:

 

Yes, you want to. :) Dual pricing has been debated on the forum for many years. As many posters have argued, t's not really clear, except in your own mind, that you necessarily deserve the same price as locals pay. Nor is realistic to expect that everyone's tax returns be audited at the entrances to national parks. You may take that discussion to one of the many threads on the topic.

 

 

I'm not actively ignored because I'm obviously friendly, give a smile, and greet the staff in Thai. Distinguishes me from the idiots and overcomes their reluctance to engage, owing to several reasons. And staff ignore Thais as well, so that's fair, important to your concern for justice.

 

 

Scammers are always equal opportunity scammers. And what you think of as scam may be simply charging what the market will bear, something socialists don't understand. 

 

 

I've always been treated politely and professionally by Immigration, and I treat the IOs with great respect from the start of our encounters. Never a problem, my papers are always in order, and I always follow the rules strictly without whinging. It's beginning to appear that there's something about you causing negative reactions, while you're of course blaming Thais. 

 

 

You can be treated more like a Thai when you speak Thai, adopt a respectful, friendly attitude at all times, adopt Thai manners, and in general just act like a "decent" Thai person. As it is, you're being treated decently for the outsider you are and aren't owed anything more.

 

In contrast to your experience, I've always been treated decently and Thais have often extended extra courtesy just because they realize I don't know what's going on because I'm a foreigner. Be careful what you wish for. You may be glad sometimes you're not being treated like a Thai. 

 

 

 

Then you will have to accept that not everybody's experience in this country is the same as yours, it's very simple, everything swings both ways in life at any time.