New plans to speed up tourism industry’s rebound in Thailand. (Photo: Jing Daily)Bangkok (VNA) – A Thai minister has come up with a series of marketing plans aimed at luring foreign visitors and speeding up the tourism industry’s rebound, the local media reported on September 14.
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is planning to promote tourism in the CLMV region – including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – by offering the Spirit Road and Meditation programme.
Other idea of the plans is to offer incentives and deals for Chinese visitors from the same clans or with the same surnames as Thai-Chinese people.
Phiphat said the programme is like “inviting relatives you didn't know about” from the mainland China to visit. His ministry will initially promote the plan in Guangzhou in southern China, a region from which many Thai-Chinese families originate.
He noted the ministry will work with the United Chinese Clans Association of Thailand and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to implement the plan. The targets are premium Chinese tourists with high spending power who take longer trips of 14-15 days.
The campaign will be tabled for cabinet consideration soon, he added.
In the first eight months of this year, foreign arrivals to Thailand grew by 2.6 percent to 26.5 million people, contributing 1.29 trillion THB in tourism revenue, up 3 percent. Domestic tourism also performed fairly, increasing by 1.3 percent to 104 million trips.
VNA
