Online travel agency Agoda advised Thailand to offer more options for tourists to visit the country to upgrade the country’s tourism industry to new heights.
Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern emphasized the need of expanding Thailand’s tourism offers beyond vacations and parties during a media briefing on Thursday. He provided an overview of the Asia Pacific tourism industry for the first five months of the year, based on data gathered by the online booking platform, which revealed a remarkable recovery and growth in almost all countries across the region, with some exceeding pre-pandemic growth levels seen in 2019.
According to Agoda’s data, the most popular destination in the region is Japan, followed by Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and South Korea. For the first five months of this year, Thailand was listed among the top three locations for tourists from 98 countries, and it took the top spot for visitors from 39 countries. It is also the favored Asian destination for visitors from Germany, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, and Sweden.
While Morgenshtern, who has lived in Thailand for over a year, commended the country as an ideal vacation destination, he stressed the need for improvement in attracting more visitors. He cited Japan as an example of a country with global prominence as a result of significant commerce and investment, as well as a diverse selection of high-end attractions and activities.
He advised Thailand to focus on creating more diverse experiences for visitors beyond traditional tourist attractions. He emphasized the importance of increasing visitor numbers, as a larger volume of tourists is more likely to positively impact the country’s revenues. He also suggested that promoting Bangkok as a popular destination would help raise awareness of Thailand’s secondary cities.
Morgenshtern also emphasized the importance of value in attracting tourists, highlighting that it includes not only pricing but also the inherent value of the city itself. As an example, he cited the northeastern city of Khon Kaen, which is one of the cheapest locations to visit but has a unique and excellent attraction that is the dinosaur museum which should be promoted to attract overseas tourists, especially families.
The Agoda CEO also indicated that Bangkok has the potential to become Asia’s Silicon Valley, but that more work is needed to reach that possibility. He believes that developing Bangkok into a technology hub will attract new visitor groups and boost Thailand’s global brand through increased events and activities. (NNT)
