The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) offices in Europe and North America are working on a series of initiatives to keep Thailand foremost in the thoughts of travel industry professionals and travelers in Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
Belgium
TAT Paris Office promoted Thai food through a delivery service working with Celebrity Chef Mr. Roger van Damme from Het Gebaar Restaurant in Antwerp. Together they launched ‘Roger van Damme Goes Thailand’ with Thai dishes now part of Het Gebaar’s regular take-away and delivery menu in 2021. During lockdown, Het Gebaar’s Thai-style lobster became supremely popular, cooked in a sauce based on classic Tom Yam soup. The office is also promoting Boo Raan, a Thai restaurant in Knokke run by a team of five Thai women hailing from Thailand’s Northeastern or Isan region. Boo Raan won its first Michelin star in the 2021 edition of the MICHELIN Guide Belgium and Luxembourg, which head chef, Ms. Dokkoon Kapueak, attributed to the restaurant staying true to her childhood recipes that she learned while growing up in rural Ubon Ratchathani.
Canada
TAT Toronto Office is working with three key partners in Canada to stimulate travel bookings to Thailand. In its partnership with Canadian sportswear maker Lolë, the ThaiFit Campaign has been extended until 31 January, 2021, with more promotions on Goway Travel’s website. The ‘Win a trip to Thailand with Lolë’ lucky draw activity has so far attracted 7,424 entries (https://www.lolelife.com/en-ca/thailand). Using a ‘Find your Fit in Thailand’ tagline, contestants are offered a chance to win a grand prize of a C$1,000 Lolë Gift Card, round-trip airfare from Canada to Thailand, an 8-night hotel stay in Bangkok and Ayutthaya plus a wellness experience during 2021. Goway Travel customers can also use the code THAIFIT to receive a CA$250 discount on any Thailand trip.
In its partnership with Travelzoo, the ‘Best Bets’ campaign is offering Travelzoo’s 1.5 million followers special deals on flexible packages to inspire a Thailand Romantic Getaway after the pandemic. The campaign, which also offers a chance to win a trip to Thailand, has so far achieved 7 million impressions and secured 423 room nights booked. It is expected to generate more impressions and bookings by the end of the campaign on 28 February, 2021.
Meanwhile, the cooperation with the Tour Radar online booking platform on the ‘Book Now, Travel Later’ campaign concluded in December 2020. It secured 34 packages and 540 room nights advance bookings on special deals that offer unlimited date changes https://www.tourradar.com/t/75978
Czech Republic
TAT Prague Office is working to enhance the awareness of Thailand as a health and wellness destination by targeting women travelers in high-spending households, as they are considered the key travel decision-makers. To raise awareness, TAT cooperated with leading fortnightly women’s lifestyle magazine Glanc to launch a Facebook activity on the Thailand travel experience.
Finland
TAT Stockholm Office is working with Finland’s largest tourism operator Aurinkomatma, which has reported 10 times the volume of its Winter Package 2021 to Thailand. This comes after Finnish tourists expressed optimism and a high level of trust in vaccines that are driving their desire for travel. The office also participated in the virtual Sustainable Destination Congress 2021 on 18 January in Lahti that focused on ‘Nature and Space’, LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) and reducing food waste.
Germany
TAT Frankfurt Office is targeting LGBT travelers with an online campaign on www.maenner.media, run by Blu Media Network, Germany’s largest media company. Run until 31 August, 2021, the campaign targets some 275,000 monthly members of Blu Media Network as well as readerships of the March/April 2021 edition with 25,000 hard copies to be distributed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Italy
TAT Rome Office, together with Travelglobe, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, and Emirates, are promoting Thailand via Travelglobe’s www.travelglobe.it website and social media activities, from December 2020, to April 2021. The activity is backed by special airfares on an Italy-Thailand round-trip from the participating airlines. These include Etihad Airways’s 460 Euros offered in December 2020, Qatar Airways’ 469 Euros offered in January-February 2021. Emirates will be promoting special airfares during March and April 2021.
UK
TAT London Office, together with Wanderlust Magazine, promoted responsible and sustainable tourism in Thailand by launching the Responsible Thailand Awards 2020. The activity attracted 595 nominations from the magazine’s readers as well as members of the travel trade. Wanderlust also published articles relating to responsible and sustainable tourism on www.responsiblethailand.co.uk, attracting 33,000 page views as well as over 3 million impressions from both the website and social media platforms. In addition, the virtual event, ‘A Responsible Evening with Thailand’, attracted 377 online participants, including travel professionals and members of the media.
