Biz Buzz
A New Year gift for those travelling within Thailand
The Tourism and Sports Ministry is using the New Year occasion to boost Thai tourism and has requested the cooperation of the private sector in launching attractive campaigns.
The Thai Bankers Association (TBA) has seen to the waiving of same-bank ATM withdrawal fees.
In general, banks charge Bt20-Bt25 per withdrawal from an automated teller machine that is outside the customer’s province, whether from the same bank or from another bank.
Boontuck Wungcharoen, chairman of the TBA and chief executive officer of TMB Bank, said the bankers’ association launched this campaign as a New Year gift to encourage Thais to enjoy life during the long holiday.
The TBA asked for collaboration from banks to promote tourism during the New Year festival by waiving the ATM fees. Thailand has many attractive destinations, and money should be spent in the country.
But when a reporter asked Boontuck about his own vacation plans in Thailand during the New Year break, he replied with smile: “Hush, hush … I’m not [staying] in Thailand.”
But if he did stay in Thailand during New Year’s, he could withdraw money for free from any ATM of any bank, because TMB’s “No Limit Debit Card” offers free charges already.
I like jokes, thank you
English-language proficiency scores in Thailand appear to be the lowest in the Asean region. This is a key driver for the growth of English-language schools in the Kingdom.
But it’s not just the educational sector that is cashing in on Thais’ poor English skills but also the film industry – just ask GMM Tai Hub (GTH).
Undeniably, there is a tonne of jokes about people who lack confidence in speaking English, particularly when they face foreigners.
GTH’s Visoot Poolvoraluk told us that his team understood those jokes quite well. Therefore, they came up with the film “I Fine Thank You Love You”, a romantic comedy.
“We believe that we have put the right jokes in the right context. This movie, therefore, has become the talk of the town, at this time and will soon creates Bt300 million revenue as planned,” Visoot said.
Asked about the key behind this movie’s success, he explained that there was a very simple answer.
“People normally do not want to be a part of such jokes but ironically they really love to hear, to see and to be entertained by those jokes.”
