The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has officially unveiled its ambitious strategy for 2024, making a committed pledge towards high-value, sustainable tourism. TAT Governor, Mr Yuthasak Supasorn, unveiled this ambitious plan which envisages a future of resilience and enhanced quality of Thailand’s tourism ecosystem. The strategy is deeply rooted in bolstering supply chains, reinforcing sustainable standards, and driving increased awareness of various authentic travel experiences that encapsulate the unique characteristics of Thailand.
In Supasorn’s words, “2024 will be the year of accelerating resilience, transforming Thailand’s tourism into high-value and sustainable tourism that focuses on building a robust tourism ecosystem.” He emphasized the need to shift from reliance on tourist numbers to a more balanced focus on enhancing tourist expenditure, attracting quality visitors, fortifying the supply chain with partners, and ensuring equitable income distribution to local communities. This approach, he said, would strike a perfect balance between economic prosperity, societal wellness, environmental health, and intellectual wisdom.
To fortify the national tourism industry, TAT is committed to establishing a robust tourism security system with a long-term immunity view to withstand global poly-crisis and sustain forward momentum. Four fundamental factors have been identified to facilitate this security: strengthening the supply chain with quality and sustainability, developing factors to support tourism and its infrastructure, leveraging digital transformation to enhance the value and sustainability of the tourism industry, and managing external risks effectively.
Further insights on the strategy were shared by TAT’s Deputy Governor for Domestic Marketing, Ms Thapanee Kiatphaibool. She said, “TAT will continue to focus on creating and delivering ‘meaningful experiences’ to quality travelers with diverse demands in tourism experiences.”
TAT has identified five strategic directions to boost its international market presence. These include enhancing Thailand’s sustainability image and solidifying it as a unique selling point, penetrating emerging quality markets, especially in Europe and the Middle East, expanding collaborations with global partners like Tourism Cares, Alipay, and WeChat, promoting overland travel through the high-speed rail network between China, Lao PDR, and Thailand, and empowering marketing efforts with digital content aimed at younger demographics.
On the domestic front, TAT prioritises stimulating local tourism, increasing travel frequency, and distributing tourism income fairly to local communities. They plan to showcase the strengths of Thailand’s Soft Power (5F) and accentuate meaningful travel experiences across all five regions of Thailand.
The ‘Amazing Thailand’ brand will be the cornerstone of marketing communication in 2024, with domestic tourists being encouraged to ‘Create Your Great Moment Now’ and international travellers being inspired towards ‘Meaningful Relationships.’ This aligns with forming deeper connections with local people and communities.
In collaboration with the private sector, TAT aims to amplify Thailand’s five soft powers under the Brand Collaboration: Amazing Thailand x 5F project.
With this visionary strategy, TAT has set a lofty revenue target of 3 trillion Baht in 2024. This includes 1.92 trillion Baht from international tourism and 1.08 trillion Baht from domestic tourism. They anticipate welcoming 35 million foreign tourists and inspiring 200 million domestic trips in 2024.
This bold and ambitious strategy is a testament to Thailand’s commitment to sustainable and high-value tourism, looking towards a resilient and prosperous future.
Written by: Stephen Morton
