TAT expects ‘workation’ scheme for civil servants to be a huge hit
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects most of the 2.5 million government officials to take advantage of the “Rath Tour Tua Thai” travel scheme and generate up to 50 billion baht in revenue.
This prediction was made on Monday by TAT deputy governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool in reference to the scheme proposed by Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.
Thapanee, who oversees domestic tourism marketing, said TAT is drafting details for the National Tourism Policy Committee to endorse before the minister proposes the project to the Cabinet.
Phiphat revealed the plan on Sunday, saying it would be similar to the “Work from Anywhere” campaign that the government encouraged private firms to adopt to promote local tourism.
He said the Rath Tour Tua Thai (Government Officials Travel around Thailand) will encourage state officials to go on a two-day “workation” to other provinces. The scheme will run from July to December this year.
Thapanee said state officials will be encouraged to visit 55 secondary-tier provinces instead of key destinations in a bid to help distribute income.
She added that each government agency can set its own conditions requiring officials to travel to provinces where they can help promote community tourism or promote local festivals and unique provincial characteristics as soft power.
Thapanee said each official is expected to spend about 4,100 baht per trip and if 90 per cent of the 2.5 million officials take a workation, they will generate some 50 billion baht in revenue.
She believes this scheme will receive a warm welcome because government officials did not suffer from salary cuts during the pandemic, unlike their counterparts in the private sector.
