Tourism agency plugs into 4.0

The authority will also promote new routes connecting Thailand with neighbouring countries in CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam), to cash in on the development of the government’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project.
Walailak Noypayak, TAT executive director for ASEAN, South Asia and the South Pacific Region, told a tourism forum hosted yesterday by Chulalongkorn University, that the government intended to apply the philosophy of the “sufficiency economy” based on the principles of traditional Thai culture into its development plan for a 4.0 economy. 
The model will be carried out along with innovation to develop manpower, strengthen society, sustain economic growth and ensure a more equitable distribution of wealth and opportunities.
This will enable Thailand to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations under the 4s: Save the Planet, Secure Peace, Sustainable Growth and Shared Prosperity.
Initiated by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the sufficiency economy aims to create balanced and sustainable development at all levels, from the individual, family and community to society at large by developing people’s ability to cope appropriately with critical challenges in a fast-changing world. The philosophy consists of three components - moderation, reasonableness and self-immunity.
“Sufficiency economy and eco-tourism share the same goal, which is to create sustainable development by empowering community to develop a sustainable way of living and minimising the negative impact of the natural and socio-cultural environment,” said Walailak.
“The Thailand 4.0 model has been adopted into the National Tourism Strategy as Tourism 4.0. It will utilise innovation to deliver creative tourism, balancing outcomes between socio-economic impacts and environmental sustainability and improving our competitive advantages in the global marketplace,” she said.
Walailak explained that under Tourism 4.0, the key to success lay in a combination of strength from within and a qualitatively connection with the world.
“Strengthening local business communities, and small and medium-sized enterprises at the grassroots of society, as well as promoting local and stakeholder empowerment by integrating the value chain between the public and private sectors will be crucial to the successful development of creative and value-based tourism,” she said.
Walailak said that for TAT’s tourism marketing strategy to work, the development of a sustainable and well-integrated tourism industry would require close cooperation between the public and private sectors and focus on three R’s: Repositioning, which is gearing towards tourism quality leisure destinations; Restructuring, which is identifying new target markets both in terms of geography and customer segmentation; and Rebalancing, which is attaining a balance between economic, social and environmental development by better spreading benefits of tourism across Thai society, and reducing social, cultural and environmental impacts.
“At TAT, we have developed a breakthrough strategy, which is to focus on revenue contribution rather than the number of tourists. We will focus on segmentation and niche customers, such as sports tourism, honeymoon and wedding, as well as eco-tourism activities,” she said.
Walailak said that TAT would also act like a marketing arm in showcasing and offering products made by local communities into the world market.
She said that TAT had launched the “Amazing Link” project by bringing international marketing knowledge into local communities through its offices in the US and Europe. Local people therefore have access to the best information about marketing techniques as well as the behaviour of foreign tourists.
“Under the Tourism 4.0, we (TAT) have a plan to extend the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) initiative into tourism benefits, with the development of new connecting routes with neighbouring countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam. We will organise a focus group and bring tour operators from Cambodia and Vietnam to discuss with Thai the possibility of connecting tourism routes in the eastern region of Thailand with those in the southern parts of Cambodia and Vietnam. We are looking to develop innovative tourism packages, as well as thematic routes to attract niche tourists, such as honeymooners,” said Walailak.
She said that in September this year, TAT would also launch an “Experience Thailand and More” campaign by bringing tour operators from the US, Latin America and Europe, to Thailand to study the tourism routes in connecting with other CLMV countries. It was hoped this would lead to new attractions being added to tourism calendars for next year.
“We (all nations in CLMV) share similar roots in culture and tradition. Developing tourism will make us more understanding and cooperative,” said Walailak.