Kuala Lumpur, 03 May, 2018 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched its latest Amazing Thailand’s ‘Open to the New Shades’ Marketing Concept in Malaysia.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, headed the Thai tourism team at the launch event held on 2 May, 2018, at the Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. It was attended by several senior executives from Malaysian travel companies, travel media and invited guests from the business community.
Mr. Yuthasak said: “Malaysia and Thailand are not just geographically close. We are linked by good political and economic relations, and our people share a strong and historic religious and cultural heritage. Our public and private sectors are also working on economic and technical co-operation in various fields.”
“We have a joint tourism promotion agreement, and also work closely together under regional groupings like ASEAN as well as sub-regional groupings like the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT). The range of cooperative areas includes not just tourism, but many others like trade and customs, finance and investment, sea and air linkages, land transportation, agriculture and fisheries, human resource development, energy, and telecommunications.”
[su_slider source=”media: 54846,54847″ link=”image” target=”blank” height=”400″]In his product presentation, Mr. Tanes Petsuwan, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications, said: “The Amazing Thailand’s ‘Open to the New Shades’ concept is about asking visitors to “open” their minds and hearts to deepen and widen their experiences into a new perception of attractions and variety of experiences in Thailand.
“The communication campaign will introduce brand new products to visitors, or reveal a new charming character of well-known destinations through creativity. This campaign is aimed at attracting more repeat visitors and also first-time visitors. Visitors can discover new perspectives in existing attractions, or indulge in experiences in new tourist attractions.
Mr. Tanes outlined the broad variety of tourism products that Malaysian visitors will enjoy in the categories of Gastronomy, Nature and Beach, Art and Craft, and Thai Culture and Way of Life.
Mr. Tanes added “Apart from new products, Thailand is a very Muslim-friendly destination. Visitors can download information on tourism products and services for Muslim travellers, including Halal restaurants, accommodation, hospitals, mosques, prayer rooms, etc. as well as the function for prayer times, alarm notifications, and Ramadan calendar by using the Application.”
To underscore the Amazing Thailand’s ‘Open to New Shades’ concept, TAT featured a presentation by Thai Celebrity Chef Chumpol Chaengprai on “Introduction to Thai Gastronomy”, and a Muay Thai live show by famous Thai kickboxer Buakaw Banchamek.
Malaysian guests also enjoyed a live music performance by Mr. Koh Saxman, a famous Thai saxophonist.
At the end of event, Mr. Yuthasak presented the awards to a number of Malaysian travel agents, airlines, media and corporations for their continued partnership and support in promoting tourism to Thailand.
Malaysia also remains the only country in the world with which Thailand has air, road, rail and sea contacts. In 2017, Thailand welcomed a total of 3.35 million Malaysian visitors, generating an estimated 11 billion Ringgit (87 billion Baht). In 2018, Thailand is expecting an increase of 6.48 percent over 2017.
In 2017, the top five tourism activities of Malaysian visitors were enjoying Thai food (85%), spa and wellness treatments (51%), historical sites (40%), nightlife (37%), and sea and beach (22%). As you can see, their main interests are seeking a variety of unique experiences in Thailand.
Malaysia currently has the most number of direct flights into 8 Thai cities: Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Pattaya (via U-tapao Airport), Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani, Ko Samui, Hat Yai and soon Hua Hin.
