TAT targeting tech savvy young tourists as New Normal means less visitors and more domestic tourism

[webfact]

TAT targeting tech savvy young tourists as New Normal means less visitors and more domestic tourism

 

Picture: Bangkok Biz News

 

The head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand has spoken to the Thai media about what the New Normal will mean for the tourism sector.

 

Yuthasak Suphasorn said that tourism businesses should target Generation Y travellers who are aged 23 to 40.

 

This group are generally in work, tech savvy and out of the box thinkers, he said, and operators must appeal to them.

 

Gone are the days of large group tours, he said, adding that in future there will be more smaller groups and FIT (independent tourists). 

 

People wanting tourism with health in mind will also be on the increase.

 

He said that next week the TAT will be meeting with the tourism and sports ministry to thrash out targets for visitors and revenue.

 

He gave a ballpark estimate of 14-16 million foreign tourists for 2020 with domestic tourists making between 80 million and 100 million trips.

 

He also spoke of three levels of a return to normal and plans for a trillion baht rescue package for the tourism sector.

 

Source: Bangkok Biz News

 

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[keith101]

And they are going to lift the ban on inter province travel when ?

 

If foreign tourists check the amount of testing done in this country (only 4,098 per million) they may very well have second thoughts about coming here .

Edited May 14, 2020 by keith101

[Thaiwrath]

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

He gave a ballpark estimate of 14-16 million foreign tourists for 2020 with domestic tourists making between 80 million and 100 million trips.

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by Thaiwrath

[BobbyL]

Another scintillating idea from the TAT. I am guessing someone in the upper echelons there Googled 'Generation Y' and thought this should be our new target. 

[Creasy]

TAT.   Give yourself an uppercut.

[Phuketshrew]

29 minutes ago, webfact said:

This group are generally in work, tech savvy and out of the box thinkers, he said, and operators must appeal to them.

 

Gone are the days of large group tours, he said, adding that in future there will be more smaller groups and FIT (independent tourists).

I'm not sure whether there is much out of the box thinking here, but I look forward to the smaller groups of FIT young ladies gracing the shores of Phuket - Bring it on ????

[AsiaCheese]

That's fewer, not less visitors...

 

The usual TAT optimism with "80 million and 100 million trips" - in a country with around 60 mio. peeps. Yes, right. Dream on.

[jaideecm]

Private tours away from the normal tourist crowds will win the day. This means targeting couples and families. Young tourists with less spending money want to party and travel in a large group cheap tour a corona-virus nightmare. 

[ratcatcher]

"He gave a ballpark estimate of 14-16 million foreign tourists for 2020 with domestic tourists making between 80 million and 100 million trips."

[nikmar]

46 minutes ago, Creasy said:

TAT.   Give yourself an uppercut.

maybe a vasectomy would be more ideal lest they reproduce.

 

Seriously, do they just make things up.

[CGW]

Dreamers indeed, Singapore has shut down two of it's airport terminals, they obviously are being realistic, Thailand should be looking at closing down one of the two Bangkok airports to save money.

[Genmai]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

TAT targeting tech savvy young tourists

 

By definition tech savvy young tourists are savvy enough to read past the glittering fake gold promises of professional liars like TAT and look online to find the inexhaustible accounts of scams, rapes, crimes and muggings and the pathetic police response that follow them. 

 

Quote

TAT targeting lobotomized left-handed Ugandan soccer moms with a projected overall spending of 17763.2323 gollygeelian baht

 

There, that's better.

[BritManToo]

"The head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand has spoken to the Thai media about what the New Normal will mean for the tourism sector."

 

With the borders closed and the airlines not running, it will mean no tourists and mass unemployment.

Maybe they should save some money by reducing staffing in all these useless ministries to 1.

Sorry, forgot the general needs to park all his relatives and friends on the gravy train somewhere.

Edited May 14, 2020 by BritManToo

[Ranshoko]

Complete pie in the sky thinking. The strategy changes every few days. They are living in dreamland if they think that age group will rescue the tourist industry. Many will be in debt, out of work. People with real money will go to better places than Thailand. Looks like they don't want older tourists, however, they are the ones with disposable income. 

[chowny77]

Basically they are after digital nomads. Wasn't it a few years ago that they were kicking these people out for not having Thai work permits?? I think it's about time that Thailand reverses this draconian law and allow people to work in any job if they have the knowledge or skill. It's not difficult and I expect more foreigners are likely to pay tax rather than their Thai counterparts. 

[toenail]

FYI-The young savvy educated tourist is interested in eco-tourism - not into pollution, garbage on beaches or riding elephants  . 

[Curmudgeon1]

1 hour ago, BobbyL said:

Another scintillating idea from the TAT. I am guessing someone in the upper echelons there Googled 'Generation Y' and thought this should be our new target. 

And you say that is a problem, when billions baht leave the country to japan,s.korea,Indonesia,malaria etc.

The idea is very logical, but how will they do it????

[timendres]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Sorry, forgot the general needs to park all his relatives and friends on the gravy train somewhere.

Don't forget the Mia Nois.

[timendres]

9 minutes ago, chowny77 said:

Basically they are after digital nomads. Wasn't it a few years ago that they were kicking these people out for not having Thai work permits?? I think it's about time that Thailand reverses this draconian law and allow people to work in any job if they have the knowledge or skill. It's not difficult and I expect more foreigners are likely to pay tax rather than their Thai counterparts. 

You are now competing with TAT for the "I have a dream" award.

[garygooner]

Didn't the chairman of CP very recently say that Thailand should be targetting  'wealthy' tourists to visit due to all the 5 star resorts and hospitals. 

[Greg O]

Totally and completely Mad and Delusional ! Targeting an age group the least likely to have the time or resources to travel...I'm giving myself an uppercut ! 

[Guderian]

And experience shows that people in this age group are also the ones who think they're invulnerable and the virus is something for other people to worry about, not them. They won't come on holiday to Thailand just to be told they must wear a face mask and cannot use the swimming pool or sit on the beach.

[remobb]

Young tech savvy tourist want fun not rules. They don't want to go to bed at 12 midnight cos the bars are closed. They want to drink and smoke on the beaches.

Get real TAT admit the fact that you have no idea what to do.

[Destiny1990]

So now the chinese are out and the Tech IT indian guys back in or ?

What happened with their first timer Norwegian visitors targeting plans?

[greeneking]

51 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

"The head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand has spoken to the Thai media about what the New Normal will mean for the tourism sector."

 

With the borders closed and the airlines not running, it will mean no tourists and mass unemployment.

Maybe they should save some money by reducing staffing in all these useless ministries to 1.

Sorry, forgot the general needs to park all his relatives and friends on the gravy train somewhere.

How many Tourist Police does a country with no tourists need?

Come to that, how many countries even have Tourist Police?

 

[Mung]

Make a specific visa for them then, that way they feel welcome and you can make a nice profit from them on a regular basis 

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, chowny77 said:

Basically they are after digital nomads. Wasn't it a few years ago that they were kicking these people out for not having Thai work permits?? I think it's about time that Thailand reverses this draconian law and allow people to work in any job if they have the knowledge or skill. It's not difficult and I expect more foreigners are likely to pay tax rather than their Thai counterparts. 

I was thinking the same exact thing, but if they only come for a two week or so vacation why in the H E Double toothpicks would they want to work.  What is wrong with TAT, they seem to have all kind of dreamer Ideas....Why not Just let all of the movie companies roll back in and film freely around Thailand.  It would put locals to work as far as extras and food services, along with hotels.....

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, chowny77 said:

Basically they are after digital nomads. Wasn't it a few years ago that they were kicking these people out for not having Thai work permits?? I think it's about time that Thailand reverses this draconian law and allow people to work in any job if they have the knowledge or skill. It's not difficult and I expect more foreigners are likely to pay tax rather than their Thai counterparts. 

Well the usual TVF BS has gone overboard, looking for any misinterpretation they can find.

Where in the text does it mention anything about working?

The implication is that financially independent tourists(FIT) that have jobs in the high tech sector would have more money to spend during their holiday than the average punter, a fairly reasonable observation to the less xenophobic.

 

Time to try understanding what gets said before jumping to conclusions and posting garbage.

[chang1]

Targeting backpackers would be a much more sensible and achievable target group. They stay in small guest houses and eat in small restaurants which helps Thais on low incomes. Thailand did this sort of tourism very well and these are the kind of travellers who will return in future years with their families. It is also a less crowded sector to compete with. On the other hand going for wealthier tourists (and the Chinese group tours) means money is funnelled to the already wealthy encouraging them to build large beachfront hotels that are a blight on so many nice beaches. Turning Thailand into Spain means it has to compete with Spain which is much harder as Spain is easier to get to and does it better. Legalising cannabis would be a good way to kickstart this business. Backpackers will put up with a lot more "Thai style" than spoilt nobs who need everything just right. Make Thailand fun again should be TATs objective until then I would not recommend Thailand as there are better and cheaper alternatives closer to home.

[marqus12]

They should loosen visas as they were before 2014 at least for a few years.

But aren't these news in the media sometimes directed at Chinese ?
"Send us wagons of tourists or we will let backpackers back in"