Thailand unveils campaign to attract tourists from Asean nations

The Tourism Authority of Thailand announced the national tourism campaign for 2017 last October. 
TAT unveiled the campaign to global markets at World Travel Mart in London in November, and the same campaign is being promoted to Southeast Asian markets this week at the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) in Singapore.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn told media that travel to Thailand from Asean countries continued to grow thanks to visa-free policies, increasing trade and business contacts, strong marketing campaigns and more low-cost airline links.
Last year, arrivals from the |Asean nations to Thailand numbered 8.6 million. Malaysia topped the list with more than 3.14 million arrivals, followed by Laos with 1.28 million and Singapore with 846,646. 
The fastest-growing source markets were Myanmar, which grew by 35.09 per cent, and Cambodia, which increased by 28.56 per cent.
This year, the number of tourists from Asean nations is expected |to be 9.20 million, 5.0 per cent more than last year. 
In 2016, tourists from Asean spent an average of Bt5,244 each per day, and average length of stay was five days.
Thailand has the largest contingent of exhibitors at the ATF being held this week until tomorrow in Singapore. 
A total of 82 Thai exhibitors, mainly hotels, are represented at the region’s first major travel trade event in a year that will mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of Asean.
Indonesia is the second-biggest contributor, bringing 58 exhibitors to the event, followed by Singapore with 51, Malaysia with 35 and the Philippines with 29 exhibitors.
At the ATF, TAT introduced the “Unique Thai Local Experience” campaign, to be used this year to deliver an innovative cultural mix to tourists while inviting them to explore these experiences under powerful narratives called “Discover Amazing Stories in Amazing Thailand”. 
In addition, Thai tourism executives participated in meetings of the Asean tourism ministers as well as representatives from Japan, China, South Korea and Russia during the event. 
As a member of Asean, Thailand has long adopted a policy of promoting tourism in the region, with a special focus on encouraging the marketing of Southeast Asia as a single destination for world travellers. 
This year, Asean marks its 50th anniversary with a “Visit Asean@50” campaign, which offers a series of selected Thai products and tour packages and promises memorable travel experiences.
Yuthasak said TAT would be the host country for the next Asean Tourism Forum, to be held in Chiang Mai from January 22-26, 2018.
It will be the sixth ATF to be held in Thailand. 
Hosting it in Chiang Mai is in line with the national policy of giving greater prominence to provincial destinations and highlighting Thailand’s links with other countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion.