The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is giving a boost to the ongoing ‘Visit Thailand Year: Amazing New Chapters’ campaign, unveiled in 2022 to spur post-pandemic tourism recovery and grow the economy.
Last year, Thailand saw 11.8 million international tourist arrivals and 189 million domestic trips. In 2023, Thailand has its sights set for 2.38 trillion baht (US$72 million) in overall tourism revenue – 80% of the revenue generated in 2019 – and looks to welcoming 25 million international tourists and 250 million domestic trips.
“The 2023 target is a result of a carefully planned strategy to continue the milestone achievement of 2022,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor.
While TAT will still be leveraging Thailand’s strengths with experience-based tourism, TAT will be placing more emphasis on the promotion and development of high value and sustainable tourism. This includes growing the tourism supply with more experiential offerings targeted at five key areas dubbed the ‘Amazing 5F’ – food, festival, film, fight and fashion – and raising awareness among industry players about the importance of being hospitable hosts to all visitors.
Under TAT’s new ‘Amazing 5F and More’ concept, the country will be championing its unique Thai identity across various segments such as wellness and luxury. A series of events that will better shed light on Thailand’s 5Fs will take place throughout the year:
• Food – Amazing Thai Tastes during March-June and Bangkok International Food Festival in June
• Festival – events include Chinese New Year in January, Songkran Thai New Year in April, and Loi Krathong in November
• Film – the Amazing Film Festival Experience in August, while a Y series Meet & Greet event is being planned
• Fight – Amazing Muay Thai Festival in February
• Fashion – Valentine Fashion TV Beach Award Festival in February
As sustainable tourism continues picking up speed, TAT is adopting the BCG Model to highlight sustainable food tourism. TAT has devised a strategy to showcase organic cuisine and to transform to inclusive business and smart organic farmer, which leads to generating income for the local community.