The Tourism Authority of Thailand is spending 550 million baht on tourism campaigns across Thailand, hoping to attract up to 107 million travelers to visit the country this year.
According to Mr. Thawatchai Aranyik, Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for domestic market, the tour packages under the TAT’s marketing campaign will be offered at convenient stores throughout Thailand.
The TAT is expected to spend around 550 million baht on the campaign. It will enter talks with convenient store owners to allow its travel packages to be sold with other everyday items.
According to the Deputy Governor, the goal of the campaign is to entice as many as 107 million travelers in the country to visit local attractions, expecting them to spend approximately 450 billion baht in total.
Mr. Thawatchai explained that convenient stores have been chosen because they are easily accessible to all the people.
Additionally, regional tourism will also be promoted through roadshows as well as exhibitions. The first exhibition will be held at Queen Sirikit Convention Center between January 24-27, 2013. Visitors can also buy affordable tour packages at this event.
The TAT, said Mr. Thawathchai, also aims at raising income from tourism promotion for each region by 5%; around 42 billion baht for the Northeast, 55 billion baht for the East, 60 billion for the North, 70 billion for the South, and 200 billion for the Central Plain.
As the number of tourists increases, spending will also rise accordingly. Revenues from tourism are expected to increase between 15-20% in Isaan and the East of the country, whilst in the figures for the South, the North and the Central region have been predicted to be around 3-4%.
