TAT CELEBRATES GOLDEN JUBILEE ANNIVERSARY IN 2010

Date: Bangkok, 10 November 2009

Mrs. Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing, said that the TAT will mark the event with a Mega Fam Trip that will show invited travel industry executives and media a new side of the Kingdom.

"The recent global financial, economic, and geopolitical stability has affected visitors to Thailand, but we are determined to make every effort to take advantage of our Golden Jubilee anniversary to bring visitors back again," she said.

A number of high–profile campaigns have been planned in Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East targetting young people, honeymooners, sports lovers, transit and stopover passengers, and many more niche–market customer segments.

TAT was established on 18 March, 1960. It was the first organization in Thailand to be specifically responsible for the promotion of tourism. Indeed, Thailand was one of the first countries in the Asia Pacific to recognise the importance of this vibrant and exciting industry for our national economic, social, and cultural development.

As such, the organization is proud to have played a significant role in making tourism one of the most important components of Thailand's economy.

Billions of dollars worth of investment have poured into an industry which, in 1960, attracted only 81,000 visitors but has grown to 14 million visitors in 2008. Earnings have grown from only US$ 10 million in 1960 to US$ 14.79 billion (532 billion baht) in foreign exchange.

In 2008, Thailand's tourism sector generated over 5–7% of GDP. Nearly four million people are employed directly and indirectly in tourism. About 70% of the tourism revenue benefits hospitality and tourism–related businesses outside Bangkok.

This helps create more tourism–related jobs and disseminate revenue to local people by boosting investment in rural areas as well as assisting thousands of Thai Small and Medium–Sized Enterprises (SMEs), which are the backbone of the country's economy.

Since the inception of the first local office of TAT in Chiang Mai in 1968, there are now 35 regional offices throughout Thailand. TAT has also established many overseas offices the first being in New York, which was opened in 1965. During the past 30 years, TAT has established 22 offices in different parts of the world.

There are several reasons why Thailand's travel and tourism has been able to rise to its many challenges.

The country has a good image, generally speaking. Its long–standing geographical advantage has positioned Thailand at the crossroads of Asia. It gives visa–free and visa–on–arrival privileges to citizens of many countries.

There is extensive airline and aviation access to Thailand in terms of both domestic and regional linkages. Added to that, of course, are Thailand's primary assets: A friendly and service–oriented people, and an excellent reputation for high service standards and product delivery.

TAT helped create landmark campaigns like the Visit Thailand Year 1987, commemorating the 5th cycle or 60th birthday of His Majesty the King. Since then, other high–powered campaign, such as Amazing Thailand, have raised the country's profile even higher.

The ongoing campaign is Amazing Thailand Amazing Value, a colourful marketing effort that focusses on positioning Thailand as the perfect value–for– money destination. It also highlights the unique Seven Wonders of Amazing Thailand, which are designed around the best products and services Thailand has to offer and are designed to suit a broad cross section of travellers, including those seeking golf and diving holidays, cultural and heritage escapades, shopping trips, ecotourism holidays, honeymoons, and many more.

At the same time, the Thai travel and tourism industry has long been conscious of its environmental responsibilities. There are numerous activities, projects and policies in place to ensure a sustainable environment for travel and tourism.

One key area of focus is ensuring more responsible travel by our young people, especially during their school holiday periods, which is the peak period for domestic tourism.

Thailand believes one of the most effective ways of environmental conservation – whether by the Sufficiency Economy concept championed by H.M. the King, the Green Leaf Foundation's environmental standards and energy efficiency scheme for hotels, Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association, or other special environmental projects, such as Green Fins, Environmental Quality Index for Tourist Beach Assessment, and the Thailand Tourism Awards — is to ensure that the people who live in the tourist areas benefit economically from tourism and thus have the incentive to conserve their environment.

Although TAT has also paid equal attention to promoting domestic tourism, in recent years, this effort has gained additional prominence, especially as a means of offsetting the decline in international tourism.

Mrs Juthaporn said, "Promoting domestic tourism has always been an important part of our strategy and will become more so in future, especially as domestic transportation systems continue to be upgraded through better highways, airports, and in future railways.

"At a national level it also plays a major role in facilitating the redistribution of income from urban to rural areas. We have identified a broad range of niche market customer segments as well as various opportunities to partner with local media and major Thai companies to target the domestic travellers."

In 2007, domestic visitors generated a 2.14% increase to 83.23 million trips. The average length of stay also rose to 2.63 days per person.

Mrs Juthaporn concluded, "It is our fervent hope that 2010 will be a stable year, free of crises, so that the travel industry can return to normal, not just for us in Thailand but for everyone."

Contact information:
International Public Relations Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545–48
Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419
E–mail: prdiv3@tat.or.th
Web site: www.tatnews.org