TAT capitalises on trends to boost domestic tourism
Moo Deng, Butter Bear and hit movie ‘Death Whisperer 2’ among the gimmicks to be introduced by the TAT to boost tourist spending
Nithee Seeprae, Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), has outlined TAT’s marketing communication strategy for the fourth quarter of 2024 (October-December).
He noted that despite facing challenges in the tourism sector, particularly due to the domestic economic situation, household debt and flooding in some areas, TAT is moving forward with campaigns and various activities to stimulate tourism during the final months of 2024. The goal is to drive domestic tourism revenue closer to the target of 1 trillion baht for the year.
Activities planned include the Winter Festival, featuring events like the Loy Krathong Festival, the Chao Phraya Artistic Festival, and collaborations with the private sector for various promotions, as well as sports events, music festivals, and traditional festivals throughout Thailand.
Additionally, TAT has launched other sub-campaigns to continuously stimulate the market, such as the “Sook Tha Long 72 Styles” campaign, which involves creating an e-book showcasing the unique characteristics of Thailand. This initiative presents 72 travel routes and styles, highlighting new perspectives on popular destinations across the country.
The campaign includes a checklist of five things to try on each route, following the “5 Must-Do’s in Thailand” concept of “Must Taste”, “Must Try”, “Must Buy”, “Must Seek” and “Must See”.
Furthermore, TAT has invited five top Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) from various fields to create travel vlogs showcasing these five travel routes in their unique styles, aiming to inspire travel and exploration.
This includes capitalising on the trend of soft power and popular content, such as following the film “Death Whisperer 2” (“Tee Yod 2”) to promote domestic tourism in Uttaradit, and exploring with “Butter Bear”, where the popular mascot will take tourists around Bangkok and ancient cities.
There is also a campaign to stimulate travel by leveraging the popularity of the pygmy hippo Moo Deng, which has gained immense popularity among both Thai and foreign audiences. This involves creating travel routes across five regions of the country to visit Moo Deng, highlighting interesting attractions along the way and aiming to enhance cross-regional tourism promotion in a 3-day, 2-night format.
“This serves as an alternative to the current market trend, which is seeing more Thais travelling abroad," Nithee said.
“Currently, there have been 200 million domestic travel instances, and in terms of quantity, this has already met the target. It is anticipated that the number will reach 230 million by the end of the year exceeding the initial goal by over 10%."
TAT aims to increase the average stay of Thai tourists from 2.5 days, with an average expenditure of 3,000 baht per trip, to 3 days, raising average spending to 3,500-4,000 baht. The total revenue from domestic tourism this year is projected to be 768 billion baht, with estimates indicating it could generate between 950-970 billion baht for the entire year.
