Tourism quality, rather than quantity, is the new tourism strategy focus for the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s 2016 marketing plan. The plan marks the start of a new era for Thai tourism, indicating an end to decades of concentrating on quantity as measured by visitor arrivals and a shift to quality.

In 2016, TAT plans to place a strong emphasis on visitor expenditure, average length of stay and the overall quality of the visitor experience while promoting the kingdom as a “Quality Leisure Destination through Thainess.”

“This plan marks the opening of a new chapter for Thai tourism,” said Juthapron Rerngronasa, acting governor, TAT. “It is based on the fact that there is more than adequate accessibility to Thailand via excellent air, road and sea connections, as well as smooth facilitation that allows visa-free or visa-on-arrival access for citizens from 68 countries and territories.”

“As Thailand has the natural geographical advantage of being located right in the heart of the Asia-Pacific and ASEAN regions, we can be sure of strong arrival figures for years to come, assuming that the external and internal operating environment remains stable. So, we can confidently say that the era of promoting ‘quantity’ is over. The era of promoting ‘quality’ has begun,” stated Rerngronasa.

The country’s tourism board plans to concentrate on attracting niche markets including golfers, wedding and honeymoon travellers, health and wellness visitors and female travellers. To prevent overexposure to the international markets, it will also focus on growing the domestic market.

According to Minister of Tourism and Sports H.E. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, targets for 2016 are up 8 per cent over the projected earnings for 2015, while international and domestic tourism are both up 8 per cent over the same period.

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