New TAT governor thanks visitors for their confidence
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Tourism Authority of Thailand's newly-appointed governor, Thawatchai Arunyik, has issued a broad statement of thanks to all visitors who are presently in Thailand, and all those who are sticking to their travel plans in spite of the present state of polit
“I am happy to be taking the helm of TAT at a very important stage of the country’s history,” said Thawatchai who took over the position on December 22.
“I am confident the tourism industry will ride this through. Above all, I would like to thank all the visitors who have retained their confidence in the kingdom and maintained their travel plans. I hope their presence will encourage others to follow suit.”
Thawatchai, 58, replaces Suraphon Svetasreni, who completed his four-year term.
He is the 9th governor of the tourism agency.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Science from the University of the East, Manila, Philippines, he joined TAT in 1983 and has since held a number of positions both in Thailand and abroad. He was the deputy governor for domestic marketing in the past four years.
Thawatchai looked forward to working with all industry partners, both in the public and private sectors, in Thailand and abroad, to maintain the momentum and help travel and tourism meet its targets. He said he would work on further strengthening alliances with industry partners, boosting cost-effective communications via social media and ensuring that the industry never loses sight of the need for environmental sustainability.
“Tourism is now well established as a leading driver of jobs, economic growth, income distribution and sustainability,” Thawatchai said. “All my predecessors and the entire staff of TAT have worked tirelessly over the years to build a strong foundation. My job is to build on that and implement the strategies and projects already clearly outlined in the Marketing Action Plan.”
TAT is anticipating visitor arrivals of 26.1 million in 2013, and projecting 28.01 million in 2014. Revenue projections are for Bt1.1 trillion in 2013 and Bt1.326 trillion in 2014.
