TTR Weekly has described a summary of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) marketing initiatives that are lined up for 2020 according to tourism marketing consultant David Barrett.
GO HIGH
Targeting millennials (24-35), DINKS (double income no kids, age 35 to 65), active seniors, shoppers (luxury brands), higher income groups and professional executives. Thailand’s gastronomy scene and high-end dining are seen as important attractions.
GO LOCAL
A ‘Hook & Hub’ strategy to attract visitors to popular tourism hubs and then channel them to second-tier destinations for a new experience with local brands and an increasing demand for “nature and local” experiences
Potential destinations for this strategy were described as Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Chiang Rai, Nan, Phang Nga, Trad, Trang, Chantaburi, Ranong, Chumporn, Krabi, Surat Thani, Trad, Kanchanaburi, Sukhothai, Mae Hong Son.
GO LOW SEASON
May to September
GO NEW CUSTOMERS
Understand and focus on visitor demographics, behavioural trends. The marketing includes Latin Americans (USA), LGBTQ. (‘chasing the pink dollar’) and women.
Other features of the initiatives include:
- It identifies fewer long-distance trips and more short holidays a year, while there is a tendency to stay closer to home.
- A Focus on TAT offices at Stockholm, Rome, Frankfurt, Singapore, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. Rome, Spain, Italy, Israel and Latin America.
- To ensure that wellness (yoga) and lifestyle experiences are more accessible.
- Travellers are searching for new places beyond ‘touristy’ areas with specialised products such as yachting, honeymoons and luxury travel.
- ‘Changing the travel habits’ of visitors who look for diversity and active holidays; not just lying on a beach.
Editor’s Comment:
Locations within the Royal Coast, including Hua Hin, are not typically described as ‘tourism hubs’. That status is reserved for Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and of course Bangkok. However the region is also not considered to be ‘second tier’, as the named potential destinations demonstrates.
The name ‘Royal Coast’ receives vague mention from time to time in tourism marketing announcements. However despite the region able to offer all the identified selling points, it remains off the 2020 TAT marketing radar.
It would seem the TAT 2020 marketing strategy is offering very little to our region’s tourism future.
