Spate of travel fairs to boost flagging tourism
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At least four major travel fairs are planned for Bangkok within the first quarter of next year. Their aim: To revive business after the losses this year due to the political crisis.
Sugree Sithivanich, deputy governor for marketing communications of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said the agency planned the Thailand Tourism Festival from January14-18 at Lumpini Park in the heart of Bangkok.
The event is set to introduce the national tourism campaign – Discover Thainess – and also promote attractions and build up awareness among local people as well as operators.
“It will be the first big event in the first quarter of next year. TAT aims to attract up to 4 million visitors during the six-day show,” said Sugree.
The second event is the Thai International Travel Fair 2015 (TITF), to be run by Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) – the outbound tourism body. The trade show is scheduled to take place at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from February 25 to March 1.
TTAA hoped that more than 600 booths would be occupied by hotels, travel operators, airlines, cruise-line agents, service providers, spas, golf course operators, car rentals, local product producers, and attractions from overseas such as Hong Kong Disneyland.
A representative of TTAA said not only more travel fairs would be held during the first quarter of the coming year, but more exhibitors, buyers, and visitors were expected.
“Operators this year have suffered from the decline in arrivals during the first nine months. Some placed very little growth while many others lost business. The poor outcome was due to political chaos,” the representative added.
‘Thai Travel Thai’
During March 5-8, PK Exhibition is set to host its annual travel fair “Thai Travel Thai”. The event will take place at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
The company hoped the event would help operators regain business from its main target – the domestic market. Travel operators will offer attractive packages and promotions to stimulate business.
Another travel fair will be hosted by KavinIntertrade, scheduled at the Impact MuangthongThani from March19-21.
The organiser said 200,000 visitors from Bangkok and provinces are expected for the event. Several other functions are also planned under the same roof during the show, including franchise business, food and beverage shows, and coffee brewers.
Event organisers are considering scheduling more fairs in the second quarter of next year in the belief the travel industry will improve if there is no crisis.
