Top ‘notatourist’ photos turned into postcards for global distribution

Since last year’s launch in June, the campaign has amassed more than 40,000 photographs from residents of Thailand offering unique, unconventional and inspiring glimpses into the little-seen sides of the nation on Instagram and Facebook, through the hashtags #notatourist and #VisaThailand. 
   The best 15 photos have now been made into 100,000 postcards.
   “I hope these photographs will inspire and encourage travellers to experience popular local activities, food and hang-outs – living like locals instead of just visiting,” said Suripong Tantiyanon, Visa country manager, Thailand.
   The photo submissions from around the country shed interesting light on Thais’ favourite destinations: Bangkok came out top, accounting for more than 23 per cent of the submissions, followed by Chiang Mai (9 per cent) and Phuket (6 per cent).
   Unsurprisingly, one out of every 10 photos was about food. Popular images included traditional Thai snacks, Ayutthaya grilled river prawns, roadside noodles and sweetened drinks.
   “The ongoing #notatourist campaign will help foster a sense of togetherness among those who share their photos, hopefully turning this pride and awareness into care for the country. The tourism industry can play an important part in sustainability,” Suripong said.
  The #notatourist campaign is just the latest in a long line of collaborations between Visa and the TAT, which have worked together on a number of joint campaigns throughout their 20-year partnership. 
   Complementing TAT’s “Unique Thai Local Experience” campaign for 2017 perfectly, #notatourist aims to provide valuable information to travellers and tourists to enable them to experience the local culture and customs, and perhaps discover new aspects of Thailand they never knew existed.