The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is at it again.  Launching a new campaign and targeting the wrong market.

Why can’t the Tourism Authority of Thailand do anything right?

Tourism Authority of Thailand Cheeseburger

The new plan announced by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in both The Nation and the Bangkok Post (must be important) is called the “Hope, Health, and Happiness” plan or 3H.  I think that the 3H really stands for HA HA HA or HO HO HO or HE HE HE or HUH HUH HUH!

The Tourism Authority of Thailand gets this one wrong on so many levels.

From The Nation:

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has developed a marketing campaign under the theme of “Hope, Health, Happiness”, or 3H, aimed at spurring the domestic market by encouraging more Thais to use the services of guided-tour operators.

Thais that travel in-country do so in the comfort of their own pick-up truck or CRV.  They DO NOT use tour guides. Why would they need a tour guide?  They live here, speak the language, can read the road signs, know how to negotiate prices, know what to shop for, and don’t get pestered by scam artists and beach vendors like foreigners do.  Wake up Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Thawatchai Arunyik, TAT deputy governor for domestic marketing, yesterday said the various 3H promotions would be introduced from later this month through to early next year. The “Hope” concept will contain the first pilot project – so-called “pilgrim” tours – to tap into the group-tour segment, he said.

This must be the Tourism Authority of Thailand latest BUZZ word – pilgrim.  Makes me think of John Wayne and one of his famous lines -

• “I haven’t lost my temper in 40 years; but, Pilgrim, you caused a lot of trouble this morning; might have got somebody killed; and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth. But I won’t. I won’t. The hell I won’t!” (He belts him in the mouth). (To Leo Gordon in McLintock!)

I can see why the Tourism Authority of Thailand calls this “Hope” – they are going to have to really HOPE that it works.

For the “Health” concept, the TAT will later launch an alternative form of medical tourism, focusing on guided group tours. It is currently putting together the names of appropriate health institutions certified by the Public Health Ministry.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand needs to do this for FOREIGNERS as well as local Thais.  Foreigners are more likely to come here and spend big bucks on some operation than the Thais.  The Thais will just go to the local pharmacist or use the 30 baht medical service available to all in Thailand.

The medical tour programme is expected to be available early next year, with the aim of boosting daily tourism spending to Bt5,000 per person, from the current average of Bt4,000.

Local Thais do not spend 4,000 baht per day when they travel.  Lucky if they spend 400 baht per day.  I don’t know where the Tourism Authority of Thailand gets their numbers from.

The TAT will extend the project to the third concept, called “Travel with a New Heart for a Sustainable Thailand”, in its plan for the next fiscal year, he added. The agency plans to invest Bt14 million on domestic promotion activity in partnership with 40 leading travel agents, offering value packages priced from Bt999 a day.

This is a re-hash of a current worthless Tourism Authority of Thailand promotion – Thai people do not care about sustainment.  They only care about today and don’t give a shit about tomorrow.  That will not change without education which is not being provided.  The money that the Tourism Authority of Thailand will spend will be on more and more promotions in Bangkok strictly for the elite Bangkokians.  Nothing will be offered to Foreigners.

 It aims to attract tourists to 20 secondary tourist attractions in the Kingdom, generating at least Bt80 million with partnered hotels expecting to enjoy bookings for 800,000 room nights from this month until September.

Ah, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has 20 new locations for tourists to destroy.

Meanwhile, the TAT is holding the “Mini Travel Fair” this coming Thursday through Sunday at CentralWorld shopping centre in Bangkok, at which travel agents, hotels and airlines will offer special packages. The authority will also make available 50,000 free travel guidebooks for visitors to the fair.

Here we go again – only in Bangkok for the elite.  What about local Thais in the rest of the country?  Why aren’t the travel guidebooks available online?  The Tourism Authority of Thailand knows how to steal photos and post them to their Facebook page – why haven’t they learned how to upload an eBook?

Maiyarat Pheerayakoses, president of the Association of Domestic Travel, said she hoped that if the new campaign announced by the TAT could hit the ambitious targets set, and government authorities continued to offer travel incentives during a period of political stability, the association would see 80 per cent of travellers booking packages and using travel agents’ services, against 65 per cent currently.

Don’t worry Maiyarat.  No matter how many or how few tourists there REALLY are, the Tourism Authority of Thailand will tell you that they exceeded their prediction.

From the Bangkok Post:

Thawatchai Arunyik, deputy governor for domestic marketing, says the health-conscious trend is popular among Thai people and Thailand has know-how related to herbs and alternative medicine.

“We have many destinations popular for alternative medicine and herb products. We are working to select key places and promote them. These destinations and their products are certified by the Public Health Ministry,” he said.

True.  These are popular amongst the elite – the very rich Bangkokians and some “quality tourists” from foreign countries.  So, why doesn’t the Tourism Authority of Thailand promote these overseas too?

TAT will introduce The Heart of the Destination campaign to boost environmental conservation among Thai tourists in the second half of the year.

Different name of the “Heart” portion than reported in The Nation.  The Tourism Authority of Thailand FIRST needs to educate the hotel and tour operators, beach and street vendors, and local and foreign tourists if this is to work.  Most businesses and tourists treat Thailand like it is a trash can.  Just having a “campaign” doesn’t mean anything without any substance.

The agency yesterday launched the Story Tellers of the Lovely Cities project in a collaboration with the private sector with a budget of 14 million baht to publish 50,000 free handbooks that feature 20 communities. A second book next year will cover 30 communities. TAT expects to cover all 77 provinces by 2015.

The Nation failed to mention the second book that will cover an additional 30 communities.  So, this means that 50 areas will be ruined.  Oh, and there are only 76 Provinces.  Bangkok is not a Province.  Looks like the Tourism Authority of Thailand is out to ruin the entire country by the time the big ASEAN  Community plan goes into effect.

“With political certainty, I think overall domestic tourism in the second half will clearly improve,” he said.

There is no such thing as “political certainty” in Thailand.  There are only quiet pauses in between coups.  The Tourism Authority of Thailand will also have to deal with the newly elected government and their plans to destroy Thailand’s economy.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has once again targeted the wrong market (should be more foreigners than locals) and in some cases should be promoting environmental awareness all year long – not in some special promotion.

Nowhere in either article did it explain what the Tourism Authority of Thailand meant by the “Happiness” part of the plan.  The Tourism Authority of Thailand should do like me and stick to unhealthy cheeseburgers that I don;t have to hope for and will give me happiness.

Tags: campaign environmental foreigners happiness health heart hope locals medical tourism TAT tourism authority of thailand