As she embraced her new role as the Governor of TAT, Ms Thapanee’s first mission took her to the inauguration of the Tourist Police Headquarters at 7.30am on Sept 1.
Three hours later, at 10.30am, Ms Thapanee was signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the integration of tourist information flows from the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS), and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
In a statement made on her personal Facebook page, Ms Thapanee shared, "TAT will be responsible for setting up a VPSS E-VISA Pre-Scan System that can help screen and verify information related to those who initially want to travel to Thailand. It is aimed at facilitating the process of obtaining a visa through our electronic visa system (e-Visa) for Chinese tourists.”
“This will help promote and encourage more Chinese tourists to decide to travel to Thailand. This is in line with the goal of generating income from tourism to further revive the country’s economy," Ms Thapanee said.
As reported by Bangkok Post on the same day, the Thai government is now mulling offering free visas to Chinese tourists to rev up demand.
One proposal presupposes allowing Chinese visitors to enter without a visa, within a certain period of three to six months, which will immediately boost this market. The second way is to waive the visa fee but still require travellers to apply for a visa, which is more appropriate for security.
Veteran at the helm
Ms Thapanee’s journey with the TAT began in 1999, following the completion of her master’s degree in science at the University of Surrey in the UK. Over the years, she has steadily climbed the ranks within the organisation, holding key positions such as Deputy Governor for Tourism Products and Business, and most recently, Deputy Governor for Domestic Marketing.
In her most recent capacity as TAT Deputy Governor for Domestic Marketing, Ms Thapanee spearheaded several transformative initiatives aimed at bolstering Thailand’s economic growth through tourism, according to a press release issued by the TAT yesterday (Sept 1).
Notable among these was the introduction of innovative programs like "workation" experiences, faith-based and religious tourism routes, and solo travel promotions. These efforts proved instrumental in stimulating a remarkable 151.45 million domestic trips in 2022, accounting for approximately 88% of the record-breaking figures achieved in 2019. These travels also generated an impressive 641.5 billion Baht.
Ms Thapanee also was the driving force behind the implementation of the Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA) certification program. This initiative played a pivotal role in re-opening the country for tourism and entering the post-COVID era.
“She also initiated the Special Tourist Visa (STV) scheme to promote the reopening of Thailand, which led to subsequent entry schemes, including Villa Quarantine, Yacht Quarantine and Golf Quarantine, as well as the Phuket Sandbox, which has been recognised internationally as the model for the country’s reopening,” the TAT said.
The national tourism agency also praised Ms Thapanee’s adeptness in social media and technology. Some of her achievements in this area have included the Google Street View project in cooperation with Google Thailand, and the ‘Amazing Thailand’ social media platforms.
”As an advocate of Thailand’s tourism, Ms Thapanee has been instrumental in the development of various special interest tourism products, including health and wellness tourism, yacht and cruise tourism, and community tourism, as well as the King’s Wisdom for Sustainable Tourism project, which won the PATA Grand Awards 2018 in the category of Education and Training,” the TAT added.