Thailand ‘needs more attractions’
Thailand urgently needs to strengthen its travel products by adding new attractions, if it is to remain a major player in ASEAN.
Friday 17 February 2012, 09:38AM
Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) President, Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, warned last week that new tourism products are needed to raise Thailand competitiveness, especially once the ASEAN Economic Community comes into being in 2015.
“The main selling points of Thailand are beaches and islands, and other countries in the region are promoting identical experiences,” he said.
“If we continue to sell the same old products then our position will be eroded.” Thailand should have mega-tourism attractions on the scale of Disneyland to encourage more tourist arrivals and revenue, especially from markets such as China and India.
Mr Sisdivachr praised the Government’s “Miracle Thailand” campaign, but noted that, like most of the Government’s efforts, it was over a short period using a large budget.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Sports should now release a detailed three-to-five-year plan on how it intends to maintain Thailand’s lead in the region.”
ATTA Secretary Charoen Wangananont agreed that the Miracle Thailand project was too short and Thailand needed to have a focus on encouraging investment in new attractions.
“If we want sustainable tourism development, the Government should set out the blueprint and direction backing it with policies and incentives.”
–TTR Weekly
