New Delhi, 23 March, 2015 – Thirty top wedding planners from all over India are to visit Thailand between 24th -29th March 2015 as a part of a fam trip organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand-New Delhi & Mumbai in cooperation with THAI Airways International.
The trip is designed to acquaint and familiarize the top wedding planners of India with the outstanding hotels and facilities available in Thailand to host grand Indian weddings and celebrations. This trip will cover the inspection of world-class hotels and resorts as well as tourist attractions.
The wedding planners are given a choice of three routes:
Route 1: Koh Chang – Pattaya- Bangkok
Route 2: Rayong – Pattaya – Bangkok
Route 3: Hua Hin- Pattaya – Bangkok
All three groups will meet in Pattaya for a Wedding Industry Symposium, where the Thai private sector will be briefed about the latest trends in Indian weddings and best ways to manage the events and meet the expectations of the Indian guests. In Bangkok, a table-top session will be organized for the wedding planners to meet and interact with Thai service providers.
After the trip, all the participating wedding planners will receive a Thailand Specialist Wedding Planner Certificate.
India is today the biggest source-market for visitors from South Asia and one of Thailand’s fastest growing source-markets. This year, the TAT is projecting 1.05 million arrivals from India.
In 2014, Thailand won eight Indian tourism awards; such as, Best Wedding Destination, Best Destination, Best International Tourism Board, Best Spa Destination and Best Value Destination.
Ms. Runjuan Tongrut, Director – TAT New Delhi, commented: “What makes Thailand unique for weddings is the warm hospitality, proximity to India, world-class hotels, choice of cuisines and value for money and ‘Can Do’ mind set. Thailand has a wide range of destinations to offer for the entire wedding party, although we have noticed there is a distinct preference for the beach resorts.”
Thailand was the first NTO in India to promote the country as an ideal dream-wedding destination. The trend started about 10 years ago and it continues to grow very strongly. More than 100 large-scale weddings ranging in attendance from 200 to 800 people were organized in Thailand in 2014.
Indian visitors know Thailand as a hospitable and a year-round tourism destination with a high quality of value-for-money products and services. Indians get visa on arrival facilities at Thailand’s international checkpoints. And there is no shortage of airline capacity, with more than 150 weekly flights by Thai Airways, Air India, Jet Airways, Thai Smile, Thai Air Asia, Bangkok Airways and Indigo Airlines.
Indian leisure travellers generally go shopping and sightseeing in Bangkok, Pattaya, with an increasing number also heading to Phuket, Chiang Mai, Samui, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Ayutthaya and Koh Chang. Recent years have also shown a marked rise in the number of Indian film-makers, MICE delegates, wedding parties and honeymooners.
