The Tourism and Sports Ministry plans to roll out a marketing and development plan next week after the cabinet approved a 500-million-baht budget on Tuesday to offset slumping tourism numbers linked to the spread of the coronavirus.
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the plan will be developed after the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Tourism Department have further discussions about the campaign this week.
He said the budget should be disbursed within two months, focusing on two missions: renovating busy tourism sites and marketing campaigns.
Earlier this week, the TAT held meetings with the private sector to commence a cooperative stimulus plan called "More Confidence, Faster Recovery" aimed at both international and domestic markets.
The stakeholders will start to launch one or two new projects from this month onwards, including the 60th Amazing Thailand Offer with Thai Airways and Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2020.
The agency plans to host Thailand's Songkran celebration on a nationwide scale to boost the number of local and international visitors, length of stay and tourism receipts.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said a series of events has to be rolled out every month to keep Thailand in the spotlight. The more tourists have confidence in Thailand, the more local operators can have recurring income to scaffold their businesses during tough times, he said.
"In an internal meeting [on Tuesday], the TAT decided to hold a workshop on new tourism plans," Mr Yuthasak said. "We'll gather all necessary information, such as hotel occupancy and cancellation rates across Thailand, to evaluate the impact and come up with the right plan to stop the bleeding."
Tomorrow, TAT officials will travel south to meet local operators in Phuket, Krabi and Phangnga, observe the tourism situation and prepare appropriate measures to tackle the slowdown.
Thai Lion Air (TLA) chief executive Aswin Yangkirativorn said local airlines will appreciate the benefits from the excise tax cut for jet fuel that the cabinet approved on Tuesday as part of attempts to cope with the tourism downturn.
Jet fuel accounts for 40% of total operating cost at TLA, but the recent measure could clip that to 30%.
