PATA Thailand Chapter thinks locally

During its 40 years of operation in the Kingdom, the association’s image has been viewed as being focused “expat-centric” culture. 

However, with the industry landscape changing rapidly and getting more dynamic, the association sees it as essential to work with all parties in the industry, especially letting the new generation move in to help take the sector forward.

Bert van Walbeek, chairman of the PATA Thailand Chapter, yesterday said the integrated effort would help secure Thai tourism in the long run. 

In the old days, all parties worked without a clear direction, which meant the industry’s development did not turn out as fruitful as expected, he said, adding that working together would at least help produce a voice to give an impact on the sector.

Currently, there are 107 organisation members in Thailand in tourism-related fields ranging from hotels and airlines to colleges and media, and they are discussing all aspects of tourism to establish a concrete outcome for the industry’s development.

One of the activity highlights is to cooperate with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Kasikorn Research Centre to launch a “Complete Visitor Economy” awareness campaign to reiterate that the tourism sector plays an important role in the national economy, he said. The campaign will be held in November.

   

Security and safety

Life security and safety is one of the top concerns, he said, adding that members will gather by year-end to brainstorm the issue and seek solutions. The outcome will then be submitted to the government for consideration.

Education is also crucial, and the association will maintain focus on this issue by working with schools to help produce qualified graduates for the industry.

Van Walbeek said that while the Thai tourism industry had a long way to go and required all hands to help, it was very optimistic about the next few years.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s “Economic Impact 2013 Thailand Report”, the direct contribution of travel and tourism in Thailand’s gross domestic product was Bt825.6 billion last year, accounting for 7.3 per cent of GDP. This is projected to rise by 6.2 per cent this year, the council said in its report.

Last year, travel and tourism directly supported 2.02 million jobs, accounting for 5.2 per cent of overall employment in Thailand.