Pratheep Malhotra (2nd right)
presents commemorative books published by the Pattaya Mail Media Group on Their
Majesties the King and Queen to Suladda Sarutilavan, director of TAT Pattaya
office. They are flanked by Auttapon Thaweesuntorn (left), Asst. Dir. TAT
Pattaya office, and Sue Kukarja (right), Director of Communications of PMTV.
Sue Kukarja
The newly appointed director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s
Pattaya office said weekday tourists and golf tours top her list of projects.
Suladda Sarutilavan met with Pattaya Mail Publishing Managing Director Peter
Malhotra Sept. 22 to exchange tourism-promotion ideas with reporters and outline
priorities for the local TAT office.
Suladda admitted that Pattaya is better known for its tawdry side than sports,
attractions and temples, but she said the agency still is working to promote the
city as a family destination. She said the TAT website is offering vouchers
aimed at weekday tourists.
“We already have a large number weekend tourists, so will draw more people to
come on week days by offering two-night packages which come with complimentary
vouchers for entrances to some attractions,” she said.
The second goal is to promote high-end golf tourism, Suladda said.
“Typically there would be a family of three or four, so dad can play golf, mum
goes shopping and the kids can stay at the Cartoon Network water park for the
day, not to mention several museums they can visit,” she said.
The TAT and Pattaya Mail Media
group agree to cooperate with each other in the promotion of tourism to Pattaya
and other destinations in Thailand. (l-r) Songpol Swetarat, Auttapon
Thaweesuntorn, Suladda Sarutilavan, Pratheep Malhotra, Vutikorn Kamolchote
(President of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya) and Sue Kukarja.
“Other than that, we will promote temple visits as well,
because you don’t really think about temples when you think about Pattaya,” she
said. To boost that effort, TAT may enlist some celebrities knowledgeable about
Buddhism to promote temple tourism in the area.
Next year, she said, TAT will intensely promote Thai culture. “We will talk to
the local communities and see what they are good at, such as the handicraft
market in Phanat Nikom, and promote tourism there.”
Suladda said Pattaya received nearly 10 million tourists last year, 7.1 million
of which were foreign tourists. With that many visitors, there are bound to be
problems.
“TAT has the Ministry of Tourism and Sports take care of major policies and
tourism development, as well as handling complaints and solving issues,” she
said, noting TAT’s major role is marketing and promotion.
“However, we cannot deny that we have a part in all tourism activities or any
problems that may arise and people would think that this is the responsibility
of TAT,” she said. “So first of all, we do positive PR to project a positive
image of tourism in Thailand to tourists all over the world. And when there are
problems, we explain what we are going to do to solve them.”
“For that we need the cooperation of the private sector,” the TAT director added
“Owners of each tourist attraction and we can discuss what needs to be improved
and how we can work together. When we get feedback from tourists we will inform
the private sector, city hall, and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to make
sure that their needs are addressed, therefore creating trust for both new and
repeating visitors.”
