Targeting mature, discerning Indian travellers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is promoting niche hideaways beyond the Bangkok-Pattaya circuit. The tourism board has extended the visa-on-arrival fee waiver for Indians to April 30
To ensure that Thailand remains the most preferred tourism destination among the Indian travellers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has introduced new experiences and destinations for 2019. As a stimulus to encourage more Indians to visit the destination, the Thai government has extended the visa-on-arrival fee waiver from January 14 to April 30.
The TAT Governor, Yuthasak Supasorn said, “We want to change the perception of Thailand in India from a ‘cheap destination’ to a more value-for-money destination. We have been working towards this for some years now. We started with four key segments namely weddings and honeymoon, sports tourism, health and well-being and responsible tourism. We want to move away from a mass tourist destination to a niche destination. After in-depth research on Indian travellers’ behaviour, we have identified some lesser known destinations and have formulated a strategy to promote them. I feel we will be able to achieve two million Indian tourists by the end of 2019, a year earlier than the previously set target of 2020.”
The TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, Tanes Petsuwan, informed that India is now one of the top 10 source markets for tourist arrivals to Thailand, a member of a small club of countries that generate more than one million visitors a year. In January-November 2018, the arrivals from India were up by 12.03 per cent to 1.42 million, generating an estimated 63 billion Baht in tourism income. In December 2018 alone, after the waiver of visa-on-arrival fee for Indians, Thailand recorded 143,000 Indian visitors, registering a growth of over 63 per cent as compared to December 2017, taking the total figure of Indian tourist arrivals to over 1.6 million in 2018.
Petsuwan said, “The growing sophistication and maturity of the Indian travellers has given us an opportunity to promote Thailand’s diverse range of niche market products to women travellers, high-net worth individual (HNIs), weddings and honeymooners and family groups. Today, a new strata of experienced, well-heeled and internet-savvy Indian travellers are venturing beyond the long-standing Bangkok-Pattaya circuit to new destinations such as Chiang Rai, Rayong, Trat, Hua Hin and Samut Songkhram.”
Sharing some highlights of the Indian tourists, the deputy governor said that in 2018, of the total Indian visitors, 58 per cent were repeat travellers; the average daily expenditure was recorded at approximately Rs 12,500; the average length of stay was 7.45 days and the visitor ratio of groups and individual travellers was recorded as 31 to 69.
“In 2019, the ‘Amazing Thailand Open to the New Shades’ campaign will be carried forward to invite travellers to indulge in unique experiences. We are targeting four segments of Indian travellers. A separate website—www.firstvisit.com, has been launched to cater to the first time travellers. We are targeting women travellers and thus have introduced the website—www.women’sjourneythailand.com. Almost 300 Indian destination weddings took place in Thailand in 2018 and to further this segment, we have introduced www.myweddinginthailand.com for specific needs of those who wish to tie the knot in Thailand. For the family travel category, we are promoting Samut Songkhram as a new destination for local experiences. Luxury travel from India is also a segment of focus this year,” added Petsuwan.
The tourism board further apprised that the bilateral airline capacity is at an all-time high with 307 weekly flights between Thailand and 16 major cities in India, served by 13 airlines which include, the Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Thai Smile, Bhutan Airlines, Druk Air, Jet Airways, Air Asia, Spice Jet, Thai Lion Air, Indigo, NokScoot and GoAir.
In August this year, TAT will undertake an Amazing Thailand roadshow to Tier-II cities—Ahmedabad, Pune, Amritsar and Bhubaneswar as part of TAT’s strategy to tap the potential of India’s secondary cities. Thailand expects to welcome five million Indian visitors by 2023.
