Fukuoka, Japan, 04 December, 2018 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has opened its office in Fukuoka.
The ceremony on 30 November, 2018, was presided over by the Minister of Tourism and Sports, H.E. Weerasak Kowsurat together with the Thai Ambassador in Tokyo, Royal Consulate in Fukuoka, Chairman of the TAT Board, TAT Governor and executives.
The new TAT Fukuoka Office is located on the 11th Floor, Hakata-Riverain-East-Site, Shimokawabatabashi, Hakataza Nishigin Building. Mrs. Roongtip Wongpatikarn Kimura has been appointed Director and Mr. Keng Chaivarin, Deputy Director.
The TAT Fukuoka office will tap the potential market from major cities in Southern Japan; such as, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Ehime, Kochi, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa.
Fukuoka Prefecture has the largest population on Kyushu Island. The largest city of Fukuoka is also the main business centre. Fukuoka Airport is the largest international airport in the region.
Currently, there are daily direct flights linking between Bangkok and Fukuoka, and direct flights between Bangkok – Okinawa by Peach Air, as well as charter flights between Bangkok and some provinces in Kyushu and Chūgoku.
The TAT Fukuoka office will also help to promote tourism cooperation between TAT and the Kyushu Tourism Promotion Organisation as per the Letter of Intent signed on 8 February, 2018, to promote cooperation and increase the number of visitors between Thailand and Kyushu.
The two-year agreement covers all seven provinces of Kyushu and includes activities; such as, travel exchange, public relations activities, and information dissemination to promote the image of Thailand amongst the Japanese public. The main customer segments will include first-time visitors, special interest groups, marathon runners, golfers and divers.
The agreement includes cooperation with the Japan High School Golf Association to organise fam trips for local tour operators. TAT will also focus on promoting Thailand secondary destinations with a stress on their history, culture, cuisine and natural resources.
In 2017, Thailand recorded 1.54 million travellers from Japan, generating 67.51 billion Baht, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.28% and 9.67%, respectively. Japanese tourists spend on average 5,353 Baht per day with an average length of stay of eight days. Popular Thai destinations among Japanese tourists include Bangkok, Chon Buri, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya.
In January–October 2018, Japanese visitors to Thailand totalled 1.35 million generating an estimated 58.7 billion Baht in tourism income.
In 2018, Japanese tourists to Thailand are projected to increase by 7.52% to 1,630,000 generating an estimated 73.37 billion Baht (251 billion Yen) in tourism income, up by 9.01%. In 2019, TAT is targeting 1,680,000 Japanese visitors generating an estimated 77.5 billion Baht (265 billion Yen).
