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Tourism Authority Of Thailand Attempts To Lure Chinese Visitors

By admin on December 7, 2011 in TAT, Thailand / no comments / 344 views

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is trying to get Chinese travelers to Thailand but does the Tourism Authority of Thailand know what it is doing?

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is scrambling to restore tourism to its previously fake numbers of tourist arrivals by keying on the Chinese market.

Thai Police Mascot

The Tourism Authority of Thailand boasted about big numbers of tourist arrivals from China in the past, but this year with the floods and Chinese and Hong Kong Governments cancelling travel to Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is in deep kimchee when it comes to attracting Chinese visitors.

From the Bangkok Post, TAT hungry for Chinese market, now that the Thailand flood travel warnings have been lifted, Thailand thinks people from China will visit Thailand.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans to restore the Chinese market after the mainland lifted its travel warning last week.

Name me one hotel in Bangkok that has staff that can speak Chinese. Show me street signs in Chinese. Ask anyone in the Tourism Authority of Thailand where the typical Chinese traveler wants to visit in Thailand and see if they know.

Sansern Ngaorungsi, TAT’s deputy governor for Asia and the South Pacific, said the agency will support half of the marketing campaign cost for travel agents who join the project to promote 10 charter flights from Chinese provinces that have never had flights to Thailand such as Shanxi Sheng, Chongqing, Hebei, and Henan. The flights will start in May 2012.

I seriously doubt this. How will the Tourism Authority of Thailand track the amount of money spent in China? Who will monitor where the money from the Tourism Authority of Thailand goes?

TAT will also add special activities in the package tours to speed up the decision of tourists. The authority is targeting medium and high-end Chinese tourists.

No they won’t. The Tourism Authority of Thailand will just send these unwitting tourists to the same old crappy areas where they always send tourists. TAT will probably send them to Ayutthaya to see the ruined ruins that should be shut down for a year of restoration.

TAT, the Chinese embassy, and the Tourist Police recently teamed to beef up security for Chinese visitors.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA – No additional security will be provided to anyone visiting Thailand.

“China will be one of the biggest tourism markets for Thailand over the next two years,” he said.

If done correctly, yes. But, in 2010, China had 57 million outbound travelers. Thailand, with their double reality tourist arrival numbers, claimed 1.7 million of them – or about 2%. Not very impressive. Reality is more like less than 1%.

TAT and private operators agreed to have a meeting more than once a month to update each other on market conditions.

Form a committee, schedule meetings, accomplish nothing.

The authority is also organising a familiarity trip to Thailand for Japanese media and Japanese travel agent executives after the floods subside.

How this helps bring Chinese tourists to Thailand is beyond me.

TAT will collaborate with tour operators to create a marketing campaign called “Beautiful Thailand”, to run from January to March 2012. Individual tour operators are entitled to design their own routes with possibly partnering of TAT to add more choices for travellers, he said. TAT will pay for the advertising for this project.

Sane shit with a different name from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

“Our research found the elderly market in Japan has high potential growth because Japanese teenagers prefer to spend on IT more than travelling. The elderly market also has relatively long stays and high purchasing power,” said Mr Sansern.

Somehow, we are back to Japan even though the article is supposed to be about China.

“Nature conservation and eco-tourism will be another focus,” he added.

Except Thailand is the trash can of Southeast Asia and tour operators know little or nothing about conservation.

In 2012, China, Japan, Malaysia, and India will be target markets. In 2011, Chinese tourist arrivals are expected to reach 1.3 million, and arrivals from Malaysia are projected to top 1.7 million. Visitors from Japan are estimated at 900,000 this year, while arrivals from Australia and South Korea are projected at 700,000 each.

I don’t see how the number of Chinese tourist arrivals will increase from last year with a one month block on travel here. Oh, I forgot. The Tourism Authority of Thailand just makes up the numbers.

As well, tourism operators in the East hope to revive the Australia market by promoting marine sports and golf next year.

Everyone at the Tourism Authority of Thailand seems to forget that there is a global recession and that few are traveling.

Chonburi’s authorities have joined hands with the private sector to hold roadshows in the second half of 2012.

Chonburi means Pattaya so I guess there will be hooker roadshows next year.

Boontarik Gusonwith, the president of THA Eastern Chapter, said the number of Australian tourist arrivals to Pattaya decreased over the past four years due to the notorious image of the city.

HAHAHAHAHAHA. The notorious image is what attracts Aussies and others to Pattaya. Clueless.

The association expects the effort will help increase the number of Australian tourists to Pattaya by 10% over the next three years from 52,766 in 2010.

By doing what?

More inane bullshit from the Tourism Authority of Thailand and stupid reporting from the Bangkok Post with an article supposedly on China that goes to Japan and winds up in Australia.