As baht soars, Trafalgar pushes Thais to Europe

The company is now publicising outbound travel via media channels after focusing on marketing activities in the Thai market. It is working with a local travel agency, Holiday Tours, to sell destinations in Britain and the European |continent.
The move is part of Trafalgar’s expansion to Asia. Two years ago, the 66-year-old firm set up an office in Singapore to make it easier to reach markets in the region, Nicholas Lim, regional director of Trafalgar in Singapore, said yesterday.
Focusing more on Asia makes it clear that this region is a promising market, thanks to its fast-growing economies.
The firm has been active in the Thai market for two decades, but it plans to be more aggressive now. It’s a good time to travel, as the baht has appreciated to Bt29 against the US dollar from Bt35 several years ago. Versus the British pound, the baht is Bt45 at present, compared with Bt70 in 2008.
Asia has the potential to become one of the top three region contributors to the group in terms of in travellers in five years. Currently, Asia makes up only 10 per cent, while the United States and Australia share a big slice of the pie with 30 per cent each and Canada follows with 20 per cent.
Trafalgar handles more than 120,000 customers globally each year, and European vacations are its core business. In Thailand, customers are targeted to increase at least 20 per cent annually over five years.
Singapore is the biggest source of Asian travellers at 40 per cent, followed by Malaysia and the Philippines with 25 per cent each.
Trafalgar will promote its tours in all markets in the region at the same time, but particularly in China, one of the biggest markets, as a way to boost its performance in the region.
Its trip packages are sold in US dollars. The firm offers 200 travel programmes, starting at US$2,500 (Bt29,390) for 10-12 days, not including airfare.