The Tourism Authority of Thailand launched its Thailand Wedding Destiny campaign on Wednesday, promoting the kingdom as a wonderful place for foreign couples to get married.
It aims to tap a growing global market and boost the wedding planning sector while ensuring the events meet international standards.
The campaign launch was attended by celebrities and business families from nine countries - including China, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK, France, the Czech Replublic and Brazil - and media influencers.
Four major areas are being promoted for wedding ceremonies - Sukothai, Phuket, Krabi and Samui. Nine leading wedding planners were present.
Tanes Petsuwan, TAT deputy governor for international marketing, said weddings were seen as one of the most influential public relations activities in the world. Wednesday's event was a great opportunity for Thailand to let international communities know it was ready to be a wedding hub of the region, and also of the world.
Mr Tanes said Thailand must be more competitive as the global wedding organisation industry was also becoming more competitive with big players such as Florence, Italy and Spain. Bali in Indonesia and Malaysia were also promoting wedding events.
The business had a high potential to generate revenue. Each marriage cost 5 to 20 million baht and ensured higher than normal spending per tourist.
He projected the business would grow 3-5% this year and be a driving force in generating tourism revenue.
The Annual Destination Wedding Planners Congress 2016 (DWP Congress 2017) rated Thailand has the preferred foreign wedding destination for Asians, third for the Australian market and sixth in European countries. It was selected as the rising star for the Middle East and African markets.