The Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched a new campaign to double triple the numbers of foreign tourist arrivals by 2020 2016 2015 2014.

The only thing I can figure out is that the Tourism Authority of Thailand must be using reverse psychology to attract tourists because they sure don’t seem to be directly marketing to countries outside of Thailand.

Street Vendors

The Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and the Thai Government have come up with some unique ways to market tourism to reach Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s Vision 2020 plan.  Here are some of the ways:

1. Take your 14-year old, lame slogan, “Amazing Thailand” and add “Miracle Thailand” to it.  Yes, the Tourism Authority of Thailand will need a bunch of miracles to reach the 30 million tourist arrival mark.

2. Develop a campaign entitled “Slow Travel” and market it solely in Thailand.  Actually the Tourism Authority of Thailand campaign is called “Travel with a New Heart for a Sustainable Thailand”, but that is too long to remember.

3. Create multiple Tourism Authority of Thailand Facebook pages like Amazing Thailand, Sukjai Thailand, TAT Contact Center, and numerous Provincial office pages (i.e. TAT Khon Kaen, TAT Pattaya) and only have one, Amazing Thailand, post in English.  Limit those posts from Amazing Thailand to things like “Amazing Thailand – Welcome to Sunday !! What are you doing ?” guaranteed to attract millions.

4. Appoint a 71-year old Minister to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports whose main focus is to have 1,820 stadiums built in Thailand.

5. Keep thinking that Pattaya, the largest brothel in the world, will ever become a World Class Destination.

6. Keep thinking that Phuket is an upscale market for rich Europeans.

7. Continue ignoring tourist complaints about tuk-tuk and taxi mafia, jet ski scams, and other rip-offs.  Also ignore local city councils and Officials from local consulates and embassies.

8. Continue to hold monthly conventions at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok to promote Thailand to Bangkokians.

9. Continue to ignore the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) scheduled to start in 2015.  And, don’t sign the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) that the other 9 member countries signed in January 2009.

10. Continue to ignore the private sector in the tour and hospitality areas and their warnings about oversupply of hotel rooms.

This seems to be the Master Plan for Miracle Thailand that anyone can plainly see will guarantee an increase in Foreign Tourism arrivals to meet the mark set by the Prime Minister.

Good luck to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand in your Reverse Psychology Campaign.

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Tags: Ministry of Tourism and Sports prime minister reverse psychology shinawatra thai government tourism authority of thailand yingluck