17 April, New Delhi: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), New Delhi Office has
appointed India’s ace golfer, 24-year-old Gaganjeet Bhullar, as a Brand Ambassador for a campaign to promote Thailand as one of the most sought after golfing destinations.
The campaign is part of a carefully-crafted strategy to attract upmarket Indian visitors to Thailand, motivate them to visit different parts of the country, and increase their average length of stay.
Ms. Runjuan Tongrut, Director, TAT New Delhi Office, said, “We are very delighted to have Gaganjeet Bhullar on board. He is one of India’s most promising golfers, and we believe he will be a huge inspiration to golfers in India. He has often been to Thailand and enjoys playing golf there. We believe that this partnership will be of long-term benefit to both Thai and Indian golfers since Mr. Bhullar is a young and fresh talent. He also takes care of junior golfers under the Gaganjeet Bhullar Foundation, which TAT has supported.”
Commenting on his partnership with Amazing Thailand, Bhullar said, “I have played tournaments in Thailand quite often where I always end up meeting people from the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC), Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC), or Delhi Golf Club (DGC). So I believe it is a great initiative to further popularise the game amongst Indians. Thailand is known as a golfers’ paradise due to the warm Thai hospitality and its professional caddies. I look forward to a close and fruitful association with Thailand and feel very privileged to be appointed its Brand Ambassador.”
Promoting golf tourism is a priority strategy for TAT under the umbrella of promoting high-spending niche-markets. Thailand has become a natural attraction for golfers, thanks to its modern facilities, internationally designed championship-grade courses, cost competitiveness, high standards of hospitality, and excellent infrastructure.
There are over 250 courses in Thailand ranging from Bangkok to beach destinations like Pattaya, Hua Hin, Ko Samui and Phuket, as well as other popular destinations; such as, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Khao Yai.
Golf has been played in Thailand for more than a century with matches reported at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club as early as 1905. The first recognised 18-hole course, Royal Hua Hin, was built in 1924 in the aristocratic seaside resort of Hua Hin. Thailand also hosts many tournaments, including the internationally renowned Honda LPGA and the Royal Trophy – Europe vs. Asia Golf Championship. It will also host the Asia Golf Tourism Convention organised by IAGTO in late April.
Recently Thailand hosted the Indian Golf Tourism Association (IGTA) tournament in Phuket and the World Corporate Golf Challenge (WCGC) tournament in Bangkok.
India is today the biggest source market for visitors from South Asia and one of the fastest growing markets for Thailand. In 2012, Indian visitors to Thailand totalled 985,883, up 10.56% over 2011.
In January – March 2013, Indian visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 249,350, up 18.21 % over the same period of 2012. TAT is expecting 1.1 million Indian visitors to Thailand in 2013.
Indian visitors have an average daily expenditure of 169.93USD per person per day over an average length of stay of 7.15 days.
There has also been rapid growth in aviation access. As of April 2013, there are 168 direct weekly services between Bangkok and major Indian cities including Delhi (45), Kolkata (45), Mumbai (45), Bangalore (7), Hyderabad (4), Chennai (14), Bagdogra (3), Guawahati (2), Ahmedabad (2) and Gaya (1). These are operated by 11 airlines: Thai Airways International, Philippine Airlines, Indigo, Jet Airways, Air India, Thai Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, Royal Bhutan Airlines, Air Austral, City Airways and Thai Smile.
In addition, there are 2 direct weekly services between Delhi and Phuket, and 2 direct weekly services between Mumbai and Phuket operated by Thai Smile.
About the Tourism Authority of Thailand
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is the country’s tourism marketing organisation. With offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, TAT seeks to showcase the best Thailand has to offer, and position Thailand as a luxury and high-end destination for Indian travellers.
For more information about Amazing Thailand, please visit:
Website: http://www.tourismthailand.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TourismAuthorityofThailandIndia
http://www.facebook.com/tatnewdelhi
http://www.facebook.com/tat.mumbai
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
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