The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in partnership with Alipay and Fliggy, has launched a strategic tourism promotion campaign to boost domestic tourism post-COVID-19 lockdown by encouraging Chinese expats living in Thailand to travel domestically.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, said, “The tourism industry has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown. While international travel is yet to resume, promoting domestic travel is essential for the industry’s recovery and the livelihood of businesses relying on tourist spending.”
Run from 24 August to 31 December, 2020, the campaign enables Chinese expats who live in Thailand and hold an Alipay account to enjoy exclusive deals offered by participating hotels when booking a domestic trip through Fliggy.
With each booking made, travellers will be rewarded with RMB 388 (approximately 1,738.4 Baht) in the form of digital coupons to redeem nationwide with participating operators.
The campaign is dedicated to promoting domestic destinations including Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Ko Samet, to name but a few.
Mr. Yuthasak added that this joint campaign marked the latest addition to the series of measures and initiatives recently launched by TAT to reboot domestic tourism, including the Expat Travel Deal 2020 event in Bangkok, the Expat Golf Societies Tournament in Rayong, and the ‘Explore the Unseen Thailand: Bang Kachao Beyond Expectations’ familiarization trip for expats and members of the media.
“Chinese expats living, working, and studying in Thailand form an important market for us to actively engage to promote domestic travel. Alipay and Fliggy, as the leading and most popular daily life and travel platforms among the Chinese, are naturally the right partners for us. We are confident that the collaboration will bring the tourism industry to local Chinese expats, and connect them with our business operators to create a unique and fun domestic travel experience,” said Mr. Yuthasak.
Alipay is the world’s leading mobile payment platform operated by the Ant Group, while Fliggy is the travel service platform under the Alibaba Group.
Ms. Cherry Huang, Head of Global Travel, Alibaba Group said, “Thailand is one of the most popular Southeast Asian destinations among travelers from China, and its appeal extends to Chinese expats living in the country as well. As China’s largest mobile payment business, Alipay strives to support the daily life of Chinese living overseas through the Alipay local life platform. We are excited that Chinese expats in Thailand will be able to enjoy great travel experiences brought by this campaign.
“Such collaborations with TAT are essential to the recovery of the tourism industry. So, we are honoured to play a part and deeply encouraged by the trust and support among our industry partners, who have shown overwhelming interested in participation with great deals and attractive experiences,” Ms. Huang concluded.
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