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Thailand: TAT outlines lure for secondary provinces
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has outlined action plans to encourage travellers to continue to visit secondary provinces next year despite the lack of tax incentives.
The government approved tax breaks this year for tourism spending in 55 secondary provinces for individual travellers who spend on accommodation, food and drinks, as well as corporations that arrange seminars and meetings at these secondary locations, which welcome less than 4 million tourists a year.
Weerasak Kowsurat, the tourism and sports minister who oversees the TAT, said the government will continue to use tourism to drive community economies in order to narrow the poverty gap.
More attractions and tourist activities in secondary provinces will be promoted in overseas markets to lure tourists to less crowded cities, he told businesses at a meeting Monday.
The 55 secondary provinces include Chiang Rai, Phitsanulok, Tak, Sukhothai, and Lamphun in the North; Ubon Ratchathani, Nong Khai, Sa Kaeo, Phetchabun and Mukdahan in the Northeast; Samut Songkhram, Chainat, Ang Thong, Uthai Thani in central Thailand; and Chumphon, Ranong, Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani in the South.
Mr Weerasak said the focus on secondary destinations is part of TAT’s strategic plans introduced last week at a forum in Nakhon Pathom.
TAT predicted the number of foreign visitors will increase from an estimated 37 million for this year to 40 million next year.
Tourism revenue is expected at 3.4 trillion baht next year, of which the international market will contribute 2.28 trillion baht and the balance will come from the domestic market.
The action plans to meet the goal have been completed after a week of discussions.
Overseas TAT offices will offer secondary province tourism packages.
Kittipong Prapattong, director of TAT’s Los Angeles office, said it is collaborating with two major online travel platforms in the US, namely Signature and Virtouso, to sell Thai tour packages to customers.
The two companies are focusing on three market segments — female tourists, romance travellers, and first-time visitors.
Last year, the number of tourists from the US market reached 1 million for the first time.
The authority predicts that the number will grow by 10% this year with same growth rate is expected for the coming year.
Major growth factors include increased air capacity between USA and Asia with a total of 90 flights per week. Many tourists from the US are adding Thailand to their holiday plans thanks to convenient connecting flights.
Next year, TAT will promote secondary provinces such as Satun province to the US market, he said. Mr Kittipong said a group of 40 high-end tourists from the US state of Colorado will travel to Thailand in November. They will be an exclusive group, travelling on a charter flight to visit Phuket and Hua Hin.
TAT will also work with Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways to bring tourists from Latin America to Thailand.
“Despite the 30-hour flight from Latin America to Thailand, the number of visitors from this market has increased significantly over recent years,” Mr Kittipong said.
Denduen Luengcheng, director of TAT’s Frankfurt office, said it would promote more secondary destinations such as Trat, Surat Thani and Phangnga to the German market and to German-speaking travellers in Switzerland and Austria.
TAT said over 1.1 million German-speaking travellers come to Thailand, mainly during the high season, causing overcrowding.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism-and-transport/1500642/tat-outlines-lure-for-secondary-provinces