BANGKOK, 18 January 2013 The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is surprised by a finding, which shows most travelers remain unaware of the many domestic tourism promotional campaigns, which it has introduced.
The TAT has recently collaborated with the National Statistical Office (NSO) in conducting a survey among some 68,000 travelers across the country regarding the Thai tourism industry in the past year.
The survey found that the number of local travelers rose 54.8% year-on-year in 2012, with the Northeast noted as the most popular destination where 34.2% of holidaymakers journeyed to.
The second-most popular region was the central plain, where 30.7% of Thai travelers opted for in 2012, while 18.2% went to the East and 15.9% chosen the upper part of the North.
The study also uncovered that more and more local holidaymakers have decided to plan their trips themselves rather than turning to travel agents.
The TAT revealed that, on average, each traveler spent 2,694 baht per trip last year.
But what startled them the most is the result of the traveler’s awareness of the TAT’s tourism promotional campaign “Tiew Hua Jai Mai – Muang Thai Yang Yuen”, or literally translated as “A New Heart of Travel – A Sustainable Thailand”. The survey stated that only 38.5% of the respondents have heard of this campaign, while 61% of them are unaware about how or what they will benefit from it.
