TCT President Chamnan Srisawat said the 3.5-trillion-baht tourism revenue target set by the government is a challenging goal, and all sectors – including but not limited to the state, private and banking sectors – would need to rapidly issue policies and implement projects that would support the generation of the targeted revenue. If this endeavor is successful, benefits will be had on the national economy’s recovery.
According to Chamnan, the TCT has proposed 3 strategies in support of the revenue target. The first strategy is aimed at fostering greater connections between tourists and tourism sites, by identifying information such as the nationalities, ages, and interests of tourists. The second strategy focuses on tourism know-how and involves using experienced individuals who hail from diverse backgrounds and academics to relay knowledge to tourism business operators, so the latter would be able to better contribute to elevating the overall tourism industry. The third strategy, Tourism Clinic, involves providing constant inspections and counseling for tourism businesses with an aim of increasing their competitiveness.
Kitti Pornsiwakit, president of the Smart Tourism working group at the TCT, said he wanted the government to expand its visa waiver policy with regards to the interests or activities of visitors. For example, a Muay Thai visa that allows stays of 6-12 months, digital nomad visas, and Thai cooking visas would allow these potential visitors to act as cultural ambassadors and contribute to expanding Thailand’s soft powers.
The TCT has also joined with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya to announce figures from the Thailand Tourism Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2024. The most recent index, which stood at 82 points, illustrated improvements over the previous index in the fourth quarter of 2023 and also stood at a higher level than in the same period of the previous year. The tourism situation in the Northern Region showed the most improvement while the Central Region showed the least improvement. Spas and Thai massage businesses displayed the greatest improvement among tourism business categories, with man-made tourism sites being the category showing the least improvement. (NNT)
