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TRAVEL & TOURISM |
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A personal view of Thailand’s Tourism Industry
Skål Thailand President - Andrew J Wood
Thailand’s tourism industry is enjoying record arrivals and I
forecast that this good news will last for the foreseeable future subject to
no natural calamities or political upheavals.
Andrew J Wood, National
President, Skål International Thailand, www.skalthailand.org - Bangkok 19
July 2013.
Tourism revenue will climb to Bt2.0 trillion by next
year. Political tensions with China’s neighbours will help Thailand. These
territorial disputes lead to increased friction as China attempts to
‘stretch’ borders, which ultimately impact visitor choice... often in
Thailand’s favour.
Thailand earned Bt984 billion in tourism revenue in 2012, from 22.35m
foreign visitors. By region, tourists from Europe (5.45m) spent the highest
portion, Bt 357 billion, according to the Department of Tourism.
By country, China topped the chart, with Bt106 billion spent by 2.76m
visitors. By next year Chinese tourists will account for 1 in 5 of all
arrivals.
During my recent visit to Shanghai I was briefed by the tourism office that
Thailand expects to welcome 6.09m Chinese visitors in 2014 and during a
meeting in Bangkok with TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni I asked if this
figure was a problem being such a high proportion of 28m arrivals next year?
Like me he was worried about too many eggs in one basket and whether it was
sustainable both statistically and environmentally.
My personal observation after 22 years living in the kingdom is we need more
infrastructure development... fast trains, efficient public transportation -
buses, trams, bicycle lanes, subways.
In Bangkok we have to bite the bullet and introduce car-free areas and
charge for bringing private cars into the CBD. Reducing traffic in this area
of the metropolis is essential if we are ever to tackle chronic congestion.
It’s not just transport - tourist safety too - at every touch point it is
vital; safe taxis; fire fighting equipment in hotels and guest houses;
3rd-party insurance for tourists and comprehensive hospital/medical care
especially in up-country locations.
In addition, eliminate double pricing; provide efficient high speed free
WiFi; increased policing to control scams by jet-ski operators, jewellery
shops, taxis, tuk-tuks and mafia controlled businesses.
Malaysia has an excellent attitude to retirees including MM2H. Malaysia My
Second Home is an initiative promoted and supported by the government to
allow long stays with a multiple entry visa. The MM2H visa is initially for
a period of 10 years and is renewable.
Thailand could learn from this programme for visitors who wish to retire or
semi-retire. MM2H allows applicants many benefits currently not available in
Thailand. As a result Thailand is losing out to this lucrative niche.
Tackling the shortage of tourism personnel has to be a national agenda item.
The industry needs 10,000 hospitality graduates per year; however, our
universities and colleges are pumping out less than half of that.
We have seen medical tourism grow from almost nothing to an industry that
adds millions of visitors per annum. Thailand will attract 2.4m foreign
patients this year.
According to a recent study by VISA, Thailand ranks number nine among the
world’s top destinations for medical tourists. As long as Thailand continues
to offer high-quality medical services at an affordable price, it is most
likely that the title of ASEAN’s top medical tourism destination will go to
the Land of Smiles.
Most tourists in 2012 were from ASEAN, 6.30m or 28% overall. To encourage
multi-country trips across Southeast Asia, the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) is urging tour operators from the 10-member states,
prior to the advent of AEC2015, to develop multi-country packages. TAT also
launched it’s DISCO plan earlier this year.
This means travellers could choose multi-destination packages that allow
them to experience a variety of cultures and landscape within ASEAN.
Today’s travellers are more sophisticated and are interested in unique
experiences with immersion in local ways of life. I believe many visitors
are looking for more than just sitting on a beach or shopping, although
these two activities are vital to brand Thai.
ASEAN’s tourism strategy bodes well with the TAT’s goal of hitting 28
million tourist arrivals in 2014, but has the danger of ‘confusing’
consumers as it overlaps and in some cases duplicates the TAT’s marketing
plan.
I see a rising trend among consumers that desire to seek a more authentic
travel experience including volunteer tourism.
The advent of AEC on the 31st Dec 2015 also has serious ramifications for
Thailand’s aviation industry. The ‘borderless’ community allows airlines the
freedom to serve all capital cities in the region without flight
restrictions. Thai aviation business has been upbeat since early this year,
given that domestic and international passenger traffic at Suvarnabhumi
Airport and Don Mueang Airport surged 17.5% to 28.51m during the first five
months this year, against a record high of 53 million passenger movements in
2012 for Suvarnabhumi Airport alone.
The 2013 forecast for Thailand traffic is 65.2+m passengers, an increase of
11% on LY.
Thailand’s connectivity to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are the
jewels in the crown. They will be the region’s magnets for fast-growing
trade, investment and tourism. However expansion at Suvarnabhumi airport
needs to be fast tracked to meet demand. Equally rail links between
Bangkok’s two airports will ease congestion.
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ASEAN packaging
cross border travel
Andrew J Wood
Heralding the dawn of a new era in ASEAN travel experiences and
to encourage multi-country trips across Southeast Asia, the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is urging tour operators from the
10-member states to develop multi-country packages.
A rising trend among consumers is the desire to seek a more authentic
travel experience, said Aung Zaw Win, chair of the ASEAN tourism product
development working group.
This means travellers could choose multi-destination packages that allow
them to experience unlimited variety in terms of culture, landscape,
people, flora and fauna, food, handicrafts, entertainment, shopping,
recreation and excitement, within the 10 member countries of ASEAN.
“Our new focus is on experiential and creative tourism that respects
environment and culture. An authentic travel experience involves
meaningful engagement with the heritage, arts and special character of
our ASEAN destinations,” Win said.
“Today’s travellers are more sophisticated and interested in unique
experiences with immersion in local ways of life. Our role is to
therefore support multi-country experiential travel within ASEAN member
states,” he further said.
The themed promotions, which are part of the ASEAN Tourism Marketing
Strategy 2012-2015, include:
* The Tastes of Southeast Asia
* ASEAN, a Tropical Paradise
* World Class Cities
* Experience Diverse Traditions
* Sport and Relaxation
* Diverse Contemporary Creativity
To inspire travellers, ASEAN has compiled a number of themes: beach,
nature and wildlife; cruise tour and rail; culture and heritage;
education and volunteering; food and nightlife; fun and leisure; health
and spa; outdoor and water sports, and pilgrimage tourism.
An initial list of 20 tour operators offering the themes in
multi-country itineraries are listed on the ASEAN travel website.
More trips are being added to cover all the 10 ASEAN nations - Thailand,
Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam.
ASEAN’s tourism strategy bodes well with the TAT’s goal of hitting 28
million tourist arrivals in 2014 ahead of the AEC, but has the danger of
‘confusing’ consumers as it overlaps and in some cases duplicates the
Thai action plan.
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