Tourism Authority of Thailand goes all out to woo Indian tourists
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Bangkok Airways together launched a new 'Fly me to Thailand' promotion this month offering gift cards, privileges, discounts and many more special deals for travellers from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam, as well as Malaysia, Singapore and India.
TAT Executive Director, Klissada Ratanapruk, said that Thailand is going through its peak season from October onwards and its an opportunity to offer special offers to tourists from neighbouring countries as well as India. He also added that the special offers from the tourism products and services across the country will help customers to be aware of the amazing variety of Thai travel experiences.
Under the 'Fly me to Thailand' promotion scheme, every group booking of three travellers from the CLMV, Malaysia, Singapore and India on Bangkok Airways can get a gift voucher of 800 baht (1,800 rupees or USD 26) from Thailand's largest retailer, Central Group. Travellers can also get discounts, special deals and privileges at 63 tourism hotspots including hotels, resorts, spas, amusement parks, adventure parks, water parks, museums, restaurants, and aesthetic clinics.
MICE groups or group meetings account for 10%, with many large companies choosing Thailand as an incentive destination. These popularly travel in large groups of around 800 people and are likely to visit Thailand on multiple occasions. The average spent per person per time is 76,000 baht. Thai business tour operators indicate that some groups request specific travel programs in Pattaya, ask for entertainment venues and request hotels that allow outsiders to stay.
Recently, it has been observed that there is a notable increase of visitors in Thailand from India who are there to shoot movies, attend MICE events and hold their weddings and honeymoons.
Thailand is one of the most preferred international tourist destinations for Indians and is getting more popular day by day. Its main attractions are the stunning and beautiful beaches, dazzling nightlife, great food, direct flight connections with various Indian cities and most importantly its good value-for-money. The accommodation is also comparatively cheap.
According to the TAT, 2 million Indian tourists are expected to visit the country this year after rapid growth of 24.5 percent to 1.14 million arrivals in the first seven months of the year. It also revealed that the arrivals from last year totalled 1.56 million, up 13 per cent from 2017. According to the Thailand Tourism and Sports Ministry, Indians spend 11 per cent more per trip than other foreign tourists.
The footfall of Indian tourists to Thailand has been rapidly increasing by the availability of cheap flights from different Indian cities. About 12 airlines fly between Indian cities and Thailand including Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Thai Smile, Bhutan Airlines, Druk Air, Air Asia, Spice Jet, Thai Lion Air, Indigo, NokScoot, and GoAir. Other than cheap air tickets and beautiful scenery, Thailand is attractive to Indian tourists because of cheap hotels, good shopping venues and availability of vegetarian food.
Tourism plays a major role in the Thai economy which accounts for about 18 percent of its GDP.38.3 million people visited Thailand in 2018, up by around 7.5 percent from the previous year. The figure is a remarkable 54 per cent higher than the tourist footfalls in 2014, just before five years.
(source:Aninews.in)
