Thailand on dais with new products

Thailand Tourism has geared up with multiple initiatives and projects to entice the Indian market. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), focusing on weddings and M!CE groups, presents coveted tourism offerings at its ‘Amazing Thailand’ event, organised recently in Delhi NCR.

Amita Pandey

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) presented Thailand’s coveted tourism offerings at its ‘Amazing Thailand’ event, organised recently in Delhi NCR on the sidelines of the South Asia’s Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) 2024. India ranks among five top source markets for Thailand after China, Malaysia, Russia, and South Korea, as per the TAT’s recent data.

India as a source market

In 2023, the number of Indian arrivals in Thailand was about 1.62 million, resulting in around US$ 1,762 million (63 billion baht) of revenue generation from India, making it the fourth largest market for the country. As of 15 February 2024, India ranked fifth with 242,839 arrivals. In 2024, TAT targets to generate US$ 2,237.5 million (80 billion baht) revenue from about 1.74 million Indian travellers.

Initiatives to entice Indians

Thai government has waived tourist visas for Indian citizens from 10 November 2023 to 10 May 2024 to attract more Indian visitors. It is also working to enhance connectivity between the two nations. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor, TAT, said, “Key strategies to realise our targets will be subsidy schemes for incentive, wedding, and celebration groups. Joint promotions with airlines and travel agents will be conducted for repeat visitors and golfers.”

Thailand is going to align its marketing strategies under PASS, which will focus on high value and sustainability. This encompasses ‘Partnership 360’ efforts, digital transformation, subculture movement, and sustainable practices. These marketing activities will target current segments, including family, millennials, weddings and celebrations, golfers, luxury, and incentive groups. Along with that, it will target new segments, such as senior citizens, women travellers, rejuvenating tours, and adventure sports. Thai Tourism is also going to tap into potential segments, i.e. Gen Z and LGBTQIA+. TAT has introduced a ‘Corporate & Incentive Scheme’ to attract M!CE business from India. Under the scheme, travel agents in metro cities (in North & East India) will be given `300 per person for a group size of 101 pax and above. For travel agents in tier 2 cities (in North & East India), the NTO will give `500 for a minimum group size of 25 pax and above. Talking about the initiatives taken to attract M!CE business from India, Siriges-A-Nong Trirattanasongpol, Director, TAT, said, “TAT divides the allotted incentive budget for the M!CE group into tier II and tier III cities, along with tier I cities, to maximize the benefits.”