TAT stirs ‘nostalgia’ to keep Thailand in people’s minds

TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the country should start slowly opening up in the third quarter, and in the meanwhile, TAT is launching several marketing activities.

He said all 29 TAT offices overseas have been tasked with collecting information on what other countries are doing to market themselves.

“This is very important, because every country is waiting for this pandemic to end and for business to return to normal. For this, every country is preparing strategies and policies to attract foreign tourists. That’s why I have assigned all TAT offices overseas to collect information so we can prepare fully,” Yuthasak added.

Thanet Phetsuwan, TAT’s deputy governor for marketing communications, said the agency has launched several campaigns to keep Thailand in people’s minds.

For instance, the TAT office in London has called in members of the Oxford United Football Club (OUFC) to cook the much-loved Thai delicacy Pad Thai in front of the camera, and has prepared DIY kits of the dish that people can order.

The TAT office in the Chinese city of Guangzhou is collaborating with media company Sina Guangdong and local Muay Thai camp to hold Muay Thai/Chinese boxing activities.

TAT hopes activities organised by its offices overseas will keep Thailand in people’s minds, so they can plan holidays once travel restrictions are lifted.

TAT has also launched a “Save Partners” campaign, which aims to help agents, tour operators, destination management companies and other businesses that sell tourism products in Thailand.

“TAT is helping by updating information about the situation to maintain relationships so that when the crisis is over, these partners can return to be a major force in the tourism sector,” Yuthasak said.