The Tourism Authority of Thailand, known primarily for promoting water gun fights, shopping, and transvestite competitions, has failed to promote one of the most culturally significant events in Thailand.

Did you know that on 26 January 2012, there was a celebration in Chiang Rai, Thailand, commemorating the 750th anniversary of the city, a day to honor King Mengrai, who  established the Lanna kingdom, which was later annexed to the ancient Thai empire?  Of course you didn’t know, since the Tourism Authority of Thailand failed to tell anyone.

Chiang Rai

The Nation reported on the failure of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Freedom of speech (actions) harm Chiang Rai celebration:

Unfortunately, it was not as big as expected. Aside from the celebration on that particular day, the anniversary itself won little exposure on the Internet. Some posts appeared on the Facebook page of Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Chiang Rai Office, among posts on new promotions from Nok Air – one of five local airlines which operate from the province.

This is just one more example that shows that the Tourism Authority of Thailand does not have a clue on how to do its job of promoting Thailand to locals and foreigners.  The only event listed at the MAIN Tourism Authority of Thailand web site, tourismthailand.org, for the entire month of January, was the Khon Kaen International Marathon.  Period.

As of today, 30 January 2012, for February, there are 5 events listed, for March, 1, and for April NONE – not even Songkran is listed as an event on the Tourism Authority of Thailand Calendar.  And, nothing at all listed for the rest of the year.  It is not that difficult to post scheduled events for 2012 even if you have to go back and change the name to add the word “Miracle”. And, you wonder why tourism is dropping in Thailand.

What’s strange is when you searched for this, springing up was news reports late last year about poor planning for the celebration. This concerned some locals who were dismayed by lack of details from the local authorities.

I did a Google search this morning for the following (without the quotation marks) “Chiang Rai 750-year anniversary celebration” and all that I saw listed were articles from The Nation and TTR Weekly – nothing at all from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

I also “follow” the Tourism Authority of Thailand on Facebook – both their main English page – Amazing Thailand, and their latest Facebook page, Discover Thailand.  I used to follow their all in the Thai language page, Sukjai Thailand, but it has mysteriously disappeared.  NONE of these Facebook pages had any mention of this event.  Apparently, only the Chiang Rai Facebook page promoted this to their 1,912 friends.

Indeed, some locals are still convinced that the local authorities could have done better.

If the local authorities and the Tourism Authority of Thailand knew how to market and use Social Media, then they could have done better.

One said that poor planning stemmed from poor cooperation between the former governor and TAT.

Just goes to show that the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t play well with others.

…if all lent their best cooperation, this event would have drawn more attention from people in the province and those living elsewhere in Thailand.

Poor promotion from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.  This happens consistently throughout Isaan – little or no promotion of events in the twenty provinces in Northeastern Thailand which keeps money out of the pockets of those who could really use it.  Instead, the Tourism Authority of Thailand chooses to promote shopping in Bangkok and the World’s Largest Outdoor Water Fight – Songkran.

…only few foreigners were spotted at the King Mengrai Monument on that day. Indeed, as the first capital of Lanna kingdom, Chiang Rai has a lot of cultural attractions to offer. Just in the district of Chaing Saen alone, there are ruins of over 100 temples to see. They could be as attractive as the old Roman wall in Europe which still attracts a large number of visitors.

Sad to say, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand fails to promote the cultural side of Thailand.

One hotel operator in the province said that when the horticulture festival first staged in Chiang Mai in 2011, some of the visitors took excursion trips to Chiang Rai. For this year? None, he said.

This is a big flower fair in Chiang Mai and a hop, skip, and a jump to Chiang Rai – but the failure to promote Chiang Rai by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, shows in the absolute lack of visitors.

So, add another check-mark in the FAIL column for the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Screws Up Another Cultural Event is a post from: Khon Kaen

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The Tourism Authority of Thailand strikes again!  This time, it is due to their failure to promote Northern and Northeastern Thailand.

The ineptitude of the Tourism Authority of Thailand shows the reality of how this Thailand Government Agency operates.

Fishing at Bueng Nong Khot

There are three very good articles at TTR Weekly that capture the dire tourism straits that Thailand is facing.  You won’t find this information at the almost English online news – The Nation or the Bangkok Post.  They are relegated to repeating verbatim what the Tourism Authority of Thailand and other Thai Government Agencies claim.

The first article from TTR Weekly, North left out of tourism loop, shows the focus of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Chaing Mai Tourism Business Association says it will take two years to improve business in this northern town that is largely forgotten by mass tourism heading for Thailand’s  more popular beach resorts.

Yep, the Tourism Authority would rather promote the sex tourist capital of the world, Pattaya, and the transvestite beauty pageant, Miss Tiffany, than promote the beauty, culture, and cool air in the North.

Many blame the failure on national tourism promotions that favour beach resorts pushing tourists to southern islands while ignoring the potential of cultural destinations in the north.

Thanks to the Tourism Authority of Thailand and their failure to understand marketing to foreigners.

“Chiang Mai tourism this year is below expectations. International tourists particularly Asians cancelled or postponed trips to the province because of massive floods in many areas of Thailand,” Mr Vorapong said.

Once again, thanks to the Tourism Authority of Thailand and their inaccurate, incomplete, incorrect, and sugar-coated “situation updates”.  Also thank the inept Thai Government for their failure to handle the flood crisis and actually make it worse.

There is a view that the arrival of the mega project Chiang Mai Convention Centre will end the oversupply filling up the rooms with meeting delegates. There is no evidence to show that the marketing of the centre has begun and usually a lead time of two years is required to secure meaningful business from the international market.

Yep.  Piss-poor marketing once again by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

In 2012, Chiang Mai should attract 2.3 million tourist arrivals of which 1.3 million will be foreigners, the CMTBA claims.

It also estimates tourist arrivals could reach 4.2 million visits and generate Bt45 billion but it gives new explanation as to how it reaches that optimistic conclusion.

More inflated numbers most likely provided by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.  No Thai Government Official ever explains where the numbers come from and no one ever challenges them.

In truth, Chiang Mai needs an overall and a rethink of where it wants to go in the highly competitive tourism industry. Currently it is exists in the also-run category and shares that space with many other destinations that are also struggling to find a viable sales pitch.

Why?  Simply because you have a bunch of incompetents at the Tourism Authority of Thailand that think that a video of an airplane departing Suvarnabhumi Airport constitutes a Flood Update.  Idiots!

The story of statistics is even more confusing as they are contradictory.

Officials say they believe arrivals will soar to 6.1 million in 2013 and earn Bt60 billion in tourism revenue due to elaborate plans such as a mega convention centre. Around , 2.1 million trips  would be international s and 4 million domestic.

But the Ministry of Tourism claims 3,944,415 tourists visited Chiang Mai last year, of which 2,465,328 were Thais and 1,479,087 were foreigners, and together they generated Bt39,507.03 million in income.

That is far in excess of the CMTBA estimates for 2012, which would indicate the association and the ministry are not on the same page when reading a data trail.

This is simple.  The Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and the Department of Tourism all lie about the number of Foreign Tourist arrivals.  Telling the truth would get them all fired for incompetence.

In a related article from TTR Weekly, Northeast bookings down, this shows how the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thai Government doesn’t give a shit about Northeast Thailand (Isaan).  Remember, there was flooding in Isaan 2 months before there was flooding in Bangkok and no one really did anything about it and the Thai Government has done little only worrying about the elite Bangkokians in Bangkok.

According to Mr Samer, floods will cause a double digit decline in the domestic travel business to the Northeast that he estimates could cut drop  by 20 to 30% particularly to  popular spots such as Wang Nam Khiao and Pak Chong district in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Since Isaan is considered the poorest area of Thailand with the most uneducated people the Tourism Authority of Thailandand the Thai Government forget they exist.

The Tourism Operators Associations make this claim:

“Normally during the cool season from November to February, booking will run at  full capacity but we are looking at 40% only,” he added

A whopping 60% decrease in hotel room occupancy!  Thanks Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Lastly, in the TTR Weekly, Media scolded over losses.  This is the blame game article.  Thai’s are infamous for not accepting blame or responsibility and are quick to point fingers at others.

Japanese travel to Thailand started to decline in August and is now down by over 50% according to Thai – Japanese Tourism Business Association president, Anake Srishevachart.

Contrary to the positive reports given by the Tourist Authority of Thailand, Mr Anake said tourism from Japan had been floored and blames the international media for the losses.

Khun Anake has the first part correct – Japanese tourism is down 50%.  He has part of the 2nd part correct also – that the Tourism Authority Thailand lies to create positive reports.  But, the INTERNATIONAL media is not totally to blame. Local Thai media, in English and Thai, have covered the floods with the highest level of ineptitude providing incorrect, inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, and in many cases, totally false information.  Add to this the total FAIL by the incompetent Thai Government Officials in handling this crisis.

“We are looking at a situation in November that will see us lose 80% of all bookings from Japan,” he said.

And, the Tourism Authority of Thailand will claim only minor impact.

“The main reason is the media,” he added. “They only focused on the flooded areas leaving out the fact that most of the country was dry.”

Uh, that is their job – to cover the flood tragedy.  Not much news in a  headline that reads “Khon Kaen Not Flooded” as opposed to one reading “Bangkok Airport Flooded”.

Japanese travel firms responded to the reports and the Japanese government’s travel warning cancelling most group departures, Mr Anake explained, who has close contacts with major travel wholesalers.

Cancelling or postponing was the right thing to do.  Parts of Bangkok were flooded, no one in the Thai Government had a clue as to whether all of Bangkok would be inundated, Don Mueang was flooded, the Flood Relief Operations Center found itself flooded out, and the Science and Technology Minister proved that he is a complete idiot with his 1,000 boats spinning propellers to get the floods from Bangkok to sea.  What does he expect the Japanese Government to do?  Encourage people to leave their earthquake and tsunami damaged homes to visit the floods in Thailand?

“We need to communicate with the market accurately and media should play a role in this situation by balancing the picture accurately,” he said.

Agreed.  BUT – the Thai Government won’t allow it.  The bad news has to be sugar-coated to protect the image of Thailand even if it means telling out and out lies.  Improper use of Facebook and Twitter by the Tourism Authority of Thailand added to this along with their 1-3 day old “situation updates”.  Most folks that I know in Thailand and abroad say that they have totally lost faith in anything reported by the Bangkok Post and The Nation.  They rely on Facebook and Twitter, Youtube videos (but not from TAT), photos, blogs, and forums.  And, they can also email those of us that live in Thailand for honesty.

This has been a total fiasco for the Thai Government and the Tourism Authority of Thailand exposing their total lack of experience, lack of marketing knowledge, lack of communication skills, and lack of anything between their ears.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Fails North And Northeastern Thailand is a post from: Khon Kaen

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Once more, the Tourism Authority of Thailand displays their ignorance of Social Media.

Below is a screen shot from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Amazing Thailand Facebook page.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Somtam

As you can see, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has posted some brilliant information on what is going on in Thailand:

Welcome to the first Sunday of October !! Shopping, cooking or staying at home ? Any idea ? ^_____

and

Good night to all fans from the top view of Bangkok, Thailand. Have a sweet dream

and

Yahooo !! Welcome to weekend & October !! Where are you now ?? ^•^

Those three worthless posts received 49, 74, and 91 comments and not one reply to any of them from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.  You can see the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t understand how SOCIAL MEDIA works.

One would think that given Thailand’s current situation with lots of rain and flooding, weather updates would be handy for those who haven’t canceled their holiday plans for Thailand and would like to know where to go where it is dry.  Maybe people would want to know what the impact of the current Tropical Depression is having on Chiang Mai and Isaan or if the flood waters have reached Bangkok.  Maybe they have a trip scheduled in the next week or so and see the other Typhoon about to hit the Philippines and wonder if it will reach Thailand.

Maybe there are people who have read about the 200 or so people in Thailand that have died in the floods and the thousands of displaced persons and want to know where they can send donations.  Maybe, they want some general information about Thailand from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Well, then maybe they have come to the wrong place, because the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t know how to use Facebook as a Social Media Tool and probably never will.

The Tourism Authority Of Thailand Does Not Understand Facebook is a post from: Khon Kaen

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The global economic recession, flooding in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and many more provinces in Thailand, and other natural disasters are being blamed for a drop in Thailand tourism but will the Tourism Authority of Thailand admit it?

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) – read private sector – is forecasting a fairly gloomy 4th quarter for the Thailand tourism market and I am sure that the Tourism Authority of Thailand will come out and tell us that it only has a “minimal impact”.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Playing A New Tune?

The Nation is reporting in an article, Foreigners staying away as flood stay, and the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) President, Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn is telling the world that it looks like a 10% drop in tourism is all that can be looked for in the 4th quarter of 2011. Will the Tourism Authority of Thailand concur?

He said travel agencies in Japan, South Korea and China were keeping an eye on the situation and asking ATTA when the flooding would improve because they want to bring package tours to key destinations, namely Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai.

Considering that this has been about the worst rainy season in 30 years, it is easy to understand a serious drop in tourism.  And, the rains are still coming with the aftermath of Typhoon Nesat heading to Thailand now and Typhoon Nalgae heading for the Philippines and then later will be here.  Ayutthaya is under water.  Chiang Mai had to close schools and cancel trains for two days.  Bangkok has flooding in 13 districts and more water from the North and Northeast will be flowing south to Bangkok.

“These three markets are very worried about the flooding and will not visit if the floods continue through October.” He added that tourists from long-haul markets such as Europe and the Americas were also concerned about making reservations during high season this year.

Keep in mind that a crappy high season will spell doom for many small and medium businesses as they make more in 3-4 months than in the rest of the year.

ATTA predicted that the number of inbound tourists from key markets would drop by 10 per cent if the flooding situation did not get addressed immediately.

Not much can be done as dams are bursting at their seams, more and more rain is coming, and sandbags can only do so much.  It is too late to re-build the entire infrastructure in Thailand.  This happens annually, the Thais survive (mostly) and then it is forgotten until the next rainy season.

Surapol Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said last week that flooding had brought domestic tourism to a halt because people could not travel to flooded areas.

Holy Crap!  The Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand actually said that flooding had an impact!  I am totally surprised.  I expected him to say that all the Bangkokians were heading to Chiang Mai and to Isaan to see the new swimming pools that every house now has.

According to private-sector estimates, overall domestic tourism has dropped by 30 per cent, with Bangkok and Chiang Mai the most affected.

Ah.  Okay.  Tourism Authority of Thailand says it is “at a halt” and the private sector says it is down 30% – guess who is telling the truth?

The Association of Domestic Travel has learned that tourists have cancelled many travel packages sold before several provinces were inundated, though many travel agencies offered alternatives to customers.

Guess the alternative is to come later on in the year to witness the “every-five-year”coup”.

Tourism in heavily flooded areas such as Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Angthong and other provinces has dropped by 70-80 per cent or more.

Aha! The real truth.  Not quite the same as “at a standstill”.

But, the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand to the rescue!

However, TAT said foreign tourists were still making bookings for Thailand during the high season and they should start arriving from this month to February.

And, the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand will come out in a few days and tell us all that the foreign tourist arrivals for the month of September are up – up – up – despite what you have just read.

Will The Tourism Authority Of Thailand Be Forced To Tell The Truth? is a post from: Khon Kaen

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Three years since the global banking and mortgage meltdowns and finally the Tourism Authority of Thailand sees that there may be a problem getting tourists from Europe to come to Thailand.

But, according to the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, this is not an issue for Thailand.  Why?  Because, TAT is “reworking” their strategy.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Domestic Tourists

Someone needs to clue in the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand that in order to rework a strategy you must have a strategy to begin with.

In an article from The Nation, TAT reworks strategy to deal with Europe woes, floods, both the Deputy Governor and the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand have seemingly found ways to bolster their already inflated tourist arrival numbers.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is revising strategies to deal with economic crisis in Europe and bad situations in the domestic market such as floods and violence in the South.

You can’t revise a strategy you never had.  Unless the plan is to market to the unemployed and offer them free trips to Thailand, or promote the “one house, one swimming pool” scheme in the North and Northeast, or the “Visit the South, see terrorism up close and personal”, you are just better off ignoring foreign tourists as you usually do and just lie about the number of incoming tourist arrivals.

TAT is preparing three strategies to maintain markets and seek new ones in Europe, which is being affected by economic problems. It will maintain key markets such as the United Kingdom and Germany but will focus on niche markets such as honeymoons.

After the article in Stern yesterday warning all of Germany (well, at least 2 million of them) of the taxi and tuk-tuk mafia in Phuket and of the jet-ski scams, I don’t think many Germans  will be making plans during high season to visit Thailand.  And, your former Foreign Minister, Khun Kasit, didn’t help relations between Thailand and Germany during the impounded Royal plane incident.

TAT will provide stimulus for emerging markets such as Russia by approaching high-spending segments such as medical tourism. Moreover, it will focus on general tourists from countries in Eastern Europe.

Don’t forget that Phuket just had another incident this week when an elephant went on the rampage and a honeymoon couple from the Ukraine were seriously injured.  I am sure that this has been reported in many of the EU newspapers.

Juthaporn Roengron-asa, deputy TAT governor for Europe and the Americas, said more than 12 countries in Europe were in trouble because of economic downturns. Five countries – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain – are facing crises.

The entire world is facing crisis – not just a few select European countries.

However, TAT will seek new sources of tourists by working with airlines to encourage visitors to the country during this year’s high season, she said.

I guess that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is going to start marketing on Mars, Mercury and the Moon.  New sources where?

Here is a good one:

The Japan market has recovered quickly, with 720,000 visitors during the first eight months, a 28-per-cent increase from the same time last year. Japanese tourists should number 1 million to 1.1 million this year, up from 800,000 in 2010.

Does anyone actually believe this?  Six months ago Japan was struck by an earthquake, tsunami and a nuclear power plant meltdown – but the Japanese are so resilient that they can still take time off to visit Thailand while rebuilding their country.  Oh, and that global economic crisis thing – it affects Japan also.

And from the man at the Tourism Authority of Thailand that always wears rose-colored glasses:

According to Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of TAT, the tourism picture should be one of growth this year despite the economic crisis in Europe, unrest in the South, and flooding According to Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of TAT, the tourism picture should be one of growth this year despite the economic crisis in Europe, unrest in the South, and flooding.

Let’s see.  Thailand is having one of their worst ever in history rainy seasons.  Dams are ready to burst, 20 provinces have severe flooding, Chiang Mai has closed schools and the trains aren’t running from BKK to Chiang Mai for two days now.  According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand – no problem.  Why?

TAT and Toyota Motor (Thailand) Co plan to organise caravan tours into flood-hit areas to help restore tourism. The agency also plans some big water festivals, including Loy Krathong, in the remaining months to rebuild domestic tourism.

Caravan tours?  Drive around the country and hand out goodie bags and get in a bunch of photo opportunities?  Plan big water festivals in flood-hit areas?  Boat races after the rains retreat are already scheduled.  Loy Krathong takes place every year.  Nothing new here but fluff from TAT.

This is an issue that the Tourism Authority of Thailand has no control over:

According to TAT, 17 countries have issued travel advisories on southern Thailand after a bomb blast on September 16 in Narathiwat killed four tourists, with more than 50 people injured.

For most countries, travel advisories for Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat have been in place for about the last 5 years.  This just amplified it since four tourists were killed.  If you read the news, there are bombings and killings down south every day.

So, with terrorism on the rise down South, what will the Tourism Authority of Thailand do?  Warn tourists not to go there?  Hell no!

To revitalise tourism in the region, TAT and operators in Ipoh, Malaysia, will launch a joint promotion in the final quarter to bring tourists into Hat Yai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Phuket and Krabi.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand will promote tourism in areas that may be deemed unsafe.  Granted, Yala, Narathiwat, and Pattani are not on the list, but Hat Yai and Nakhon Si Thammarat are pretty darn close to the 3 provinces with all the killings.

Notice too, in the article, that nowhere does it say that the Tourism Authority of Thailand expects numbers of tourist arrivals to decrease.  Despite economic worries, floods and “unrest”, the Governor of the Tourism of Thailand remains optimistic.

“Last year, 37 provinces were flooded but tourism was still positive. And this year growth should recover,” he said.

And, it is easy for him to remain optimistic since no one ever questions the number of tourist arrivals that the Tourism Authority of Thailand claims each month.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Admits Global Economy Sucks is a post from: Khon Kaen

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