TAT bids to attract more big spenders
Bamrung Amnatcharoenrit
The Nation
Bang Saen



Workshop to find way for rise in quality tourists to 40%

BANGKOK: -- A key focus next year for the Tourism Authority of Thailand will be attracting more "quality" tourists as it strives to achieve the government's Bt2-trillion tourism-revenue target for 2015.

The TAT expects the proportion of foreign tourists in the middle-to-upper market will rise to 40 per cent from 30 per cent at present. This year, foreign arrivals are expected to be 24.5 million.

The TAT is outlining its challenges at its annual five-day Action Plan workshop, which commenced yesterday. About 300 TAT employees from 26 overseas and 35 domestic offices are attending the event to discuss operational plans. Next Monday, the results of the discussions will be announced officially.

Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak, who presided over the event's opening day, said he was confident that Thailand can achieve the Bt2-trillion revenue target by 2015 via productive strategies and focusing more on quality tourists. However, all stakeholders in the industry have to work together to overcome obstacles faced by the industry, especially ensuring tourist safety and cracking down on unfair services.

TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni said keeping the revenue coming in without relying on visitor numbers alone - that is, earning more per head - was an essential policy. Besides the revenue issue, this would minimise congestion in tourism locations. Repeater tourists will be introduced to secondary cities.

First-time and repeater tourists will be in focus equally. At present, 70 per cent of foreign tourists are repeaters. Next year, the first-visit group will increase its share, with the hope that they will be future repeaters.

Growth in tourism revenue from foreigners is projected at about 13 per cent next year from about Bt1.14 trillion forecast for this year. The key strategy is to maintain current markets such as Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy while also looking for new ones such as Latin America, Canada and Eastern Europe. Meanwhile the Asian market is projected to show the biggest growth.

The TAT will also focus on niche markets and expand these to secondary cities. Tourists in this category are big spenders. Niche markets include spas, honeymoons and weddings, golf, medical, and eco-tourism.

At the workshop, Suraphon said the opening of the ASEAN Economic Community was under its attention in line with the policy of the government, which has spent a large amount on its promotion. The TAT will have to discuss how to cooperate with the other nine member states under the "AEC for All" scheme while maintaining Thailand's competitiveness at the same time.

These efforts will lead to regional tourism development. Intra-region travel throughout the 10 nations will be on the rise and create tourism connectivity.


-- The Nation 2013-07-02

They should concentrate on weddings. There is no faster way to extract wealth from a farang than having him marry a Thai.

Let's hope the tourists who are not " quality " decide to take their money elsewhere and we will see how long it takes to affect Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy, Pattaya and the like when the they are ignored by the quality arrivals.

You don't need to get 300 people together for a junket at the taxpayers expense. The Ambassadors have been telling you over and over what the problems are. The high end farangs are not going to come to Thailand whilst the beaches are dirty, the streets and rivers are littered with garbage, duel pricing and scams are rampant. Setting up safety zones leads one to think that the rest of the areas are no go zones and doesn't sound attractive for a holiday.

The problems are been plastered all over the international media for years but Thailand has always put the earplugs in the blindfolds on putting it down to farang hysteria.

Nice photo, of Boracay.

They should concentrate on weddings. There is no faster way to extract wealth from a farang than having him marry a Thai.

I think they are working on this. Wasn't there a politician a few months back publically encouraging thai women to marry a farang?

Nice photo, of Boracay.

Yes, bancas with the outrigger gear and the painted names. TAT working on the idea all Asian beaches look the same to foreigners so let's pass off a nice one as ours.

They should concentrate on weddings. There is no faster way to extract wealth from a farang than having him marry a Thai.

I think they are working on this. Wasn't there a politician a few months back publically encouraging thai women to marry a farang?

Do they have to be quality or just have money ? Oh, no need to answer, unwanted husbands can be dispensed with when the money well runs dry.

Can you imagine the Swampy immigration lines with TAT's new signage in order of status.

Thai Nationals; Asean nationals; Chinese nationals; Elite Card holders; Quality non nationals; Non quality non nationals; Burmese.

Nice photo, of Boracay.

It's part of the scam, borrow the pics of anothers nice clean beaches and then when the quality tourists roll in they are confronted with the stench of rotting garbage littered around, beaches choked with chairs blocking the view of the sand and mangy disease ridden soi dogs defecating everywhere.

I asssume TAT is referring to wealthy (Quality) tourists. Well theyre not coming because the beaches are mostly second rate or polluted, dogs everywhere,dangerous footpaths,second rate hotel staff who dont know what a wine glass is and scams abound.

You have to offer quality before hi-so come. Thailand doesnt have it and never will.

Thailand is cemented in the mass tourism market so you cant have it both ways.

Thailand is very popular with budget travellers because its an established cheap lower rung tourism product...Pure and simple.

The jet setters go to the Bahamas,Florida and French Riveria. Thailand is for retired European tradesman ,stevedore clerks and other pensioners living with Issan wives.

Is that beach in the article here in Thailand? :Looks far too clean to be a Thai beach.

That tree trunk looks suspect.. Thais would of chopped it down and made it into cigarette lighter trinkets.

What about the TAT channeling some money into schooling hotel workers? The lady working the reception in the 5 star hotel will be very pretty and nicely dressed, but most likely the quality tourist won't be impressed by her English speaking skills.

Have they considered kidnapping richer-tourists, or hijacking aircraft bound for the Caribbean, and diverting them to Phuket, perhaps ?

Give them a free-on-arrival Thailand-Elite card, or a complimentary sack of rice on-departure, what does the Big Boss think or say about this, the one who came up with the rice-scam ?

Above all else, don't let the Baht weaken to make Thailand more-affordable again, this global economic problem is bound to end soon, because the TAT command it !

Never consider letting the market dictate what the bulk of the customers want to visit Thailand for, a cheap-and-cheerful beach-holiday in a 3-star hotel or guesthouse, with cheap-booze and interesting food and an elephant-ride plus a bit of budget-shopping.

The market must be persuaded to need ever-more up-market over-priced 5-star accomodation and restaurants, that will surely attract the Russians & Chinese & Indians in their tens of millions !

They could start by trying to inculcate the Thai public with a rudimentary concern for public safety and the rule of law.

When Thailand stops being a littered, cluttered, filthy, backwards shlithole, then they can talk about a higher quality tourist. Oh did I mention dangerous roads with no real traffic policing or how many tourists die each year?

Maybe the best they could do for now is to try to get better looking Isaan gals into the bars.

They should concentrate on weddings. There is no faster way to extract wealth from a farang than having him marry a Thai.

yeah just ask that french guy who just got done...of sorry he never had sex with her

Looking at the figures (as TAT love to do) a ten per cent rise means attracting two and a half million more golfers, spa addicts, Korean superstar lookalike wannabees and honeymooners to Thailand next year. Forget the eco-tourists, they don't drive around around in expensive gas guzzling cars pumping pollution into the air but would rather live simply and save their money just as much as save the planet.

So to achieve the sort of numbers TAT speaks of would be truly amazing.

Have they considered kidnapping richer-tourists, or hijacking aircraft bound for the Caribbean, and diverting them to Phuket, perhaps ?

Give them a free-on-arrival Thailand-Elite card, or a complimentary sack of rice on-departure, what does the Big Boss think or say about this, the one who came up with the rice-scam ?

Above all else, don't let the Baht weaken to make Thailand more-affordable again, this global economic problem is bound to end soon, because the TAT command it !

Never consider letting the market dictate what the bulk of the customers want to visit Thailand for, a cheap-and-cheerful beach-holiday in a 3-star hotel or guesthouse, with cheap-booze and interesting food and an elephant-ride plus a bit of budget-shopping.

The market must be persuaded to need ever-more up-market over-priced 5-star accomodation and restaurants, that will surely attract the Russians & Chinese & Indians in their tens of millions !

That is a lot of high end tourists to kidnap from other places. 40% of the projected 25 million is around 10 million high end tourists.

plan already underway with idea of mandatory travel/health insurance for tourists (as foreigners get free hospital treatment here). Simply add the need to deposit a bond to ensure you leave the country when you are supposed to of say 250,000THB and that should reduce the undesirables to a level that makes the % target for quality tourists a given.

Anyone have anything nice to say about Thailand? Anyone?

They have been saying this for years, it's like a stuck record.

As much as I like Thaialnd, unfortunately it's reputation precedes itself. TAT haven't got a clue really. I am proposing that Chalerm becomes the tourism minister. That way the promotion of casinos, all inclusive drinking holidays and ear medicine tourism will be at the front of the drive to get in the big spenders. Maybe some AOT Pink Bentley limos as well. Of course, job done in 90 days.

Unfortunately for the only Thai-speaking members of the TAT think tank that spawn these ideas just see the equation as to reel in the rich offer nice adverts and 4 star hotels.

In the real world there is the issue of top class service throughout the tourist infrastructure, and that includes the mentality of Tourist facing police, taxis drivers, restaurant staff and the tourist facilities and their staff.

Take a look around the reviews on Trip Advisor, few of the theme parks or other "attractions" in Thailand get any above average reviews, there is a common theme of poor service, rip-off pricing and a general state of dirt and dis-repair.

The winner from this series of meetings will be the local company that makes the expanded polystyrene signs for the backdrop of the stage.

The big money from China won't come until they can do some gambling here.

Anyone have anything nice to say about Thailand? Anyone?

I wish i could but the Thais simply dont want farangs here anymore.

They conveniently forget that if it werent for the yanks in WW2 all these rich Thais would be coolies and serfs lying around on hammocks drinking lao kao with the Burmese.

Thailand has used us to make real estate expensive and now they think they dont need us anymore. Chinese, Ruskies Indians and Arabs are the future apparently. We are not quality? F##k you Somkid. Ok, throw it back in their faces.

Beer bars sit on prime real estate in BKK and Pattaya. How long before theyre torn down. Its already started in Bangers. Pattaya next?

Thinking back many a long year to holidays with a wife and young daughter were we quality tourists ? The day's activities revolved around my daughter so no boring bus trips, visits to ruins and so on. the evening ended with her bedtime and hopes of a decent movie on TV or in-house movie channel, no nights on the town or even body swerving the wife for a couple of hours.

We were quiet, respectable tourists, maybe even quality but a couple of young lads with money to spend and all the intention of doing so contributed more to an economy than we ever did.

TAT talks crap and their figures are even worse.

I asssume TAT is referring to wealthy (Quality) tourists. Well theyre not coming because the beaches are mostly second rate or polluted, dogs everywhere,dangerous footpaths,second rate hotel staff who dont know what a wine glass is and scams abound.

You have to offer quality before hi-so come. Thailand doesnt have it and never will.

Thailand is cemented in the mass tourism market so you cant have it both ways.

Thailand is very popular with budget travellers because its an established cheap lower rung tourism product...Pure and simple.

The jet setters go to the Bahamas,Florida and French Riveria. Thailand is for retired European tradesman ,stevedore clerks and other pensioners living with Issan wives.

Is that beach in the article here in Thailand? :Looks far too clean to be a Thai beach.

That tree trunk looks suspect.. Thais would of chopped it down and made it into cigarette lighter trinkets.

They screwed it by not deciding which resorts would be high end and others not. Everything is a mish mash of low to high end

Same old story churned out year after year, in fact week after week since the new clueless Minister of Tourism has been installed.

And nothing ever changes.

Mass tourism from emerging markets (Russia, China etc) is the current trend and that is the lifeblood for the three and four star resorts right now.

Anyway, I await the results from this 5 day workshop. I wonder if they will come out with another new slogan?

Anyone have anything nice to say about Thailand? Anyone?

Has some of the best Pad Thai in the world if you can find a place that makes it with organically grown ingredients and not laced in chemicals.

How's that

I would have attended the workshop. However, I doubt they would pay much attention to my proposal:

nuke Pattaya and install a minefield around Phuket to detain every corrupt official there for at least 25 years!

Anyone have anything nice to say about Thailand? Anyone?

Has some of the best Pad Thai in the world if you can find a place that makes it with organically grown ingredients and not laced in chemicals.

How's that

That's Vietnamese anyway.