Revitalizing Thai Tourism: Online Leaders Join Forces

April 4, 2023

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Thailand’s tourism industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the country is now looking to bounce back with a new joint marketing initiative. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has partnered with four of the world’s leading online platforms – Agoda, Alipay, Klook, and KKDay – to promote tourism in Thailand and showcase the country’s soft-power foundations.

The joint marketing initiative will see each platform launch campaigns and promotions to boost tourism to Thailand and promote experience-based tourism activities in primary and secondary destinations. The project is aimed at inspiring travel to Thailand among Millennials, FITs, leisure travellers, young adults and family travellers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan.

Agoda, for example, will offer discounts on accommodation bookings from April to July 2023, targeting Millennials, FITs, and leisure travellers living in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. The campaign is expected to generate around 150 million Baht in revenue and create an online awareness of about 3.5 million impressions.

Meanwhile, KKday will launch two ‘Sustainable Thailand’ projects from April to August 2023, promoting Thailand as a destination for water sports and sustainability. The projects are expected to create an online awareness of about six million impressions and generate at least 186,000 online purchases.

Klook will launch promotions and discounts on tourism activities, tours, services, and attractions highlighting Thailand’s soft-power foundations, including theme parks, diving trips, historical tour programmes, and local communities and products. The campaign is expected to generate at least 500,000 bookings for tourism activities in Thailand and create an online awareness of at least 50 million impressions.

Finally, Alipay will offer discounts for travellers who make payments via Alipay in Thailand, targeting Millennials, shopping aficionados, and foodies from China. The campaign is expected to generate around 200 million Baht in revenue and leverage its Alipay+D-storeTM solution to allow local businesses in Thailand to build digital stores and expand their presence in the market.

According to Mr Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, the world’s online platform is an essential source of information that influences tourists’ decision-making process on airline, hotel, and destination selection through sharing their travel experiences during and after the trip. The joint marketing initiative with the world’s leading online platforms is in response to changes in tourist behaviour and in line with TAT’s aim to elevate the quality of Thailand’s tourism industry with technology and innovation.

Mr Tanes Petsuwan, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing – Asia and the South Pacific, added that TAT is leveraging Thailand’s 5F soft-power foundations – Food, Film, Festival, Fight, and Fashion – and experience-based tourism to offer meaningful travel experiences in Thailand through this joint marketing initiative. In addition to boosting tourism to Thailand, the project aims to expand the length of stay and stimulate spending on tourists’ holidays in the kingdom via online platforms.

In conclusion, Thailand’s tourism industry is looking to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic with a new joint marketing initiative with four leading online platforms. The partnership is expected to create an online awareness of millions of impressions and generate millions of Baht in revenue, showcasing Thailand’s soft-power foundations and promoting experience-based tourism activities in primary and secondary destinations. With this initiative, Thailand’s tourism industry hopes to emerge more robust and resilient.