Thailand’s prime minister is keen to promote tourism in less popular provinces and is demanding an increase in the length of stay and spending by tourists.
At a meeting at Government House, Thai Prime Minister Settha Thavisin announced changes to the kingdom’s tourism policy to promote second-tier provinces and increase spending by foreign tourists, Reuters reports.
“The aim is to maintain a year-round ‘high’ tourism season and increase foreign tourists’ spending per person and per trip,” Settha told Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsupkhakijkosol, Tourism Authority of Thailand head Thapani Kiathphaibul and tourism executives.
Tourism promotions are required to be shifted away from traditional destinations such as Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi and Hua Hin, the Prime Minister said.
“Instead, it is required to incentivise spending in second-tier provinces by promoting strengths and creating new attractions,” Settha said.
“Please join hands to find points of attraction that we will turn into soft power and push in the right direction.”
The prime minister told the gathering that he had instructed the head of the tourism department to attend international tourism events to attract more foreign tourists to Thailand.
Settha also instructed the head of the department to send the tourism authority’s senior staff to secondary provinces more often to search for cultural and tourist sites.
“I realise it will be difficult to find attractions, but I think there are enough of them. Co-operation between the tourism authority and local administrations is required to find new tourist sites,” said Settha.
Thailand will become a year-round tourist destination, not just in the winter months, the prime minister told the gathering.
“Please do your homework and formulate strategies to attract foreign tourists during all seasons of the year,” Srettha asked the gathering.
The Prime Minister emphasised that it was the responsibility of the Tourist Board to provide information to foreign tourists in all languages, adding that it was required to focus not only on the number of tourist arrivals but also on the expenditure per person.
“The aim is for foreign tourists to stay here longer and spend more,” Seththa said.
Apologising to the Tourism Authority chief for publicly chiding him for failing to meet the foreign tourist arrivals target, the Prime Minister assured Thapani of his support and called for direct communication.
“Please apologise for being too direct. I did not mean to offend, and I know the challenges you and the country are facing,” Settha said in his meeting with Thapani.
Settha called for tourism development in tier-II provinces and increased foreigners’ length of stay and tourist spending. After the meeting sounded policy directions, the prime minister also spoke privately with the minister and the head of the department.
Sudawan later told reporters that the ministry would ask the Cabinet to allocate 600 million baht to increase the number of foreign tourists during the “high” season.
The ministry will submit details of the promotion to the Cabinet for consideration in line with the Prime Minister’s policy to promote tourism in second-tier provinces such as Nongbualampu and Kanchanaburi. The ministry will also consider options for tourism promotion activities in second-tier border provinces.
In addition, the ministry intends to find ways to increase tourist spending and encourage foreigners to spend more than the current norm of 43,000 baht per person per trip,” Sudawan added.
While admitting that the number of Chinese arrivals did not meet expectations, Sudawan expressed optimism about the increased number of tourists from other countries. The tourism minister also said she would push for tourists to be allowed to stay in the country without visas for longer than 30 days per trip.
In a bid to boost the tourism industry, the Thai government approved a temporary 30-day visa-free stay for citizens of China, India and Kazakhstan in September. The scheme, which was scheduled to end in February next year, has been extended until May 2024 and now also includes citizens of Taiwan and Russia.
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