Promoting Tourism in Thailand
Worldwide

Thailand's tourist industry is a viable business generating billions of baht in income each year for the fact that the country has much to offer in terms of a variety of tourism resources be they beauties of nature or a rich cultural and historical heritage as well as other tourist attractions which have contributed in making Thailand one of the world's vital tourist attractions which have contributed in making Thailand one of the world's vital tourist attractions.

In 1994, a total of 6,166,496 foreign tourists visited Thailand bringing income of 145,211 million baht, considered the highest in comparison with other types of export products. On an international level, the World Organization of Tourism ranked Thailand at number 22 in terms of number of foreign visitors and number 11 in terms of tourism income for 1994.

Statistics of foreign visitors to Thailand was first recorded officially in 1960 or 36 years ago when the Tourism Organization of Thailand (TOT) first began operations. In that year a total of 81,340 tourists visited the country. The figures would subsequently rise continuously.

From 1960-1969 or during the first decade of TAT's operations the number of visitors rose at a rate of 22.7 percent.

From 1969-1979 the number of visitors rose at a rate of 11.5. That period market a milestone when in 1973 the number of visitors reached 1 million for the very first time. However, in 1974, the first international oil crisis occurred when the OPEC nations formed an alliance to monopolize the production of oil and increased prices resulting in sharp increases in oil prices in the world market subsequently causing a slump in the tourist industry worldwide. In Thailand, the number of tourists dropped by 6.9 percent in 1976 compared to the same period of 1975. This marked the first time there was a decrease in the number of visitors resulting from the recession experienced all over the world.

In 1979 the Tourist Organization of Thailand was elevated to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Between 1980-1989 the rate of visitors increased at an annual rate of 11 percent due to the world's second oil crisis which caused another economic recession. Thailand's growth rate for tourists therefore appeared at a minus rate for the second time in 1983. Nevertheless, 1982 also marked a year when tourism became the highest source of income when compared with all other exports.

In 1987, Thailand's tourist industry expanded most significantly in its history of tourism. It was that year that celebrations were held to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of His Majesty the King's birth and the Visit Thailand Year 1987 was launched. The campaign proved to be a great success and would later be replicated by several other countries. A year after that, in 1989, the number of visitors rose to over 4 million and reached 5 million by 1990.

In 1991 war broke out in the Persian Gulf sending numbers to plummet for the third time. The rate would have increased in the following year if not for the national unrest that occurred in May 1992 so that numbers remained the same i.e in 1992 there was a total of 5,136,443 or an increase of 0.97% while in 1993 the situation returned to normal with tourists totaling 5,431,192 (an increase of 12.14%) and in 1994 a total of 6,166,496 (an increase of 7.05%), finally, for the first half of 1995 (January-June) figures show a total of 3,385,385 (an increase of 15.3%)

In conclusion, the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand between 1960-1995 has increased annually at an average rate of 13.58.

The growth in tourism and the fact that Thailand has become a well known tourist destination should not be attributed merely to Thailand's good fortune to have interesting sightseeing venues as an asset. There are several other contributing factors, the most important being the full collaboration between the government and private sectors in terms of marketing promotion, improvement of tourism products and service quality as well as the government's tourism promotion policies which have resulted in continuous planning and development during the last 30 years. In summation, the growth in tourism may be attributed to the five following factors :

1. Tourist attractions which may be categorized as natural, historical and archaeological features as well as the rich culture and tradition of the Thai people.

2. Traveling facilities; tourist can travel to Thailand by air, land, river and sea.

3. Service facilities such as accommodation, restaurants and other conveniences.

4. Basic infrastructure such as highways, communications systems, electricity and water, etc.

5. The friendly attitude of the Thai people towards their visitors.

Such are the factors that have contributed to the promotion of tourism. However, as a product, tourism is not like any other which is to say that other products in general can be packaged as samples and sent for trial. Tourism, on the other hand, is a product that needs to be consumed at the site itself resulting in obvious limitations in marketing promotional tactics. Its success depends on the product's good name and the faith of its customers. Marketing Thailand's tourism industry is, therefore, a vital task in making Thailand a well-know tourist destination to the world.

TAT's promotional campaigns both local and foreign comprise the following :

1. Tourist Information Centres. TAT's agencies disseminate information on tourism to foreigners interested in Thailand in person and by mail or facsimile from its main office in Bangkok, its 22 branches nationwide as well as the 17 offices in foreign countries or through TAT's marketing representatives in 20 other locations worldwide.

2. Public Relations. Public relations campaigns have been carried out both by TAT itself and through the use of advertising agencies locally and abroad. Its main activities have been in preparing newsletters and pamphlet-packages on tourist information for dissemination to the media and tourist agencies, organizing study tours for the media to generate articles or television and radio documentaries, hosting Meet the Press sessions and press releases as well as organizing special activities or participating in and supporting activities that act as a catalyst for target groups to become better acquainted with Thailand.

3. Advertising. TAT has allocated a budget for advertising in order to promote tourism in Thailand to target groups both locally and internationally through various types of media; newspapers and magazines in printed form, television commercials in Thai-form, television commercials in Thailand and abroad both on local and such satellite channels as CNN, STAR TV, Eurosport, the Super Channel, radio commercials and last but not least, advertisement on buses, railway and underground stations.

4. Sales activities. TAT has collaborated with tourist agencies, hotels airlines and other tourism businesses to organize and participate in sales promotion activities both locally and internationally to provide a forum whereby tourism operators can coordinate and meet to exchange information on sales tactics. In Thailand, such a venue is the International Travel Show, whereas abroad TAT has sent representatives to the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, England, the Internationale Tourismos Borse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, Feria Inter Internacional De Tourismo (FITUR) in Madrid, Spain, Borsa Internazionale Del Turismo (BIT) in Milan, Italy, Top Resa in Deauville, France etc.

5. Marketing activities for promotion of international conventions. TAT has exploited ways to promote Thailand as a venue for holding international conventions, for example, by collaborating with the Association for the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) in attending the European Incentives & Business travel & Meeting Exhibition (EIBTM) in Geneva, Switzerland, the Incentive Travel & Meetings Executive Show (IT&ME) in Chicago, U.S.A. and the Incentive Travel and Corporate Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) in Hong Kong etc.

6. Other marketing activities. Some examples being; producing audio-visual aids on tourism, designating sales representatives to provide advice on marketing campaigns in various countries.

As for the promotion of tourism according to the policies of sustainable tourism, it is crucial that development and conservation plans must be laidout simultaneously with sales promotion tactics. Such efforts have already been pursued by TAT as seen in its campaign for operational plans for the revival of tourism in Pattaya and adjacent areas between 1992-1995. The plan incorporates methods to solve problems both physical and environmental and tourism management alongside marketing procedures so as to provide long-term solutions to the image of Pattaya. Similar plans for problem solutions are being undertaken by TAT in other tourist destinations such as the islands of Samui, Koh Larn and Koh Tao.

In summation, the principal reason that Thailand has become a famous tourist destination worldwide is due not only to the fact that it has all the contributing factors that make it an ideal tourist attraction but also because there has been systematic planning for the development of tourism resources alongside appropriate sales and marketing techniques. This has been achieved through full collaboration between the government and private sectors in motivating the promotion of tourism for the past 36 years. These efforts have made Thai tourism the strong industry it is today, a branch of tourism that is most integral for Thailand's present economic system.