Thailand eyes high spending Chinese
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has begun a marketing drive to generate greater numbers of Chinese visitors to the Kingdom. The recently launched ‘Wonderful Thailand 2008’ campaign will aim to attract more high-spending Chinese tourist, focussing on key destinations such asBangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. The campaign is being supported by national carrier Thai Airways.
During the drive, the TAT will invite Chinese press membersto upscale destinations, highlighting five-star hotels, boutique resorts andtailor-made tours. The campaign is also aiming to combat the plethora oflow-cost Thai package tours available in China. The TAT already regulatesChinese agents, with only 50 registered Mainland agencies so far getting theAssociation’s seal of approval. But TAT Governor Phornsiri Manoharn insists theregulation is necessary. “It might sound very controlled but we really need tomaintain our standards,” Phornsiri said. She added that the average cost oftours from TAT-approved agents is approximately CNY9,000 (US$1,322), withtourists spending more during their stay.
The slowdown global economic slowdown and high oil pricesare forcing Thailandto look more a attracting short haul visitors, and the ever growing number ofaffluent Chinese travellers is an obvious target. Last year, Chinese visitorsto Thailand passed the onemillion mark for the first time, making it the fourth largest Asian marketafter Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. The number of repeatvisitors from Chinais improving to approximately 40%, with this figure expected to rise to 50% in2009. Repeat visitation rate for European travellers in approximately 80%.
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