The new president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) is requesting more state support for marketing campaigns and tourism development to draw foreign tourists, particularly the sluggish Chinese market.
Atta welcomes cabinet approval of the draft entertainment complex bill, eager for tourism stimulus, but wants stringent regulation of casinos and proper employment for Thais so that the development does not solely benefit foreigners, said Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, who was on Thursday elected Atta president for a two-year term.
“The government hasn’t done enough in collaboration with the private sector on marketing campaigns to promote tourism,” he said.
Mr Thanapol said the Chinese market is growing slowly in the first quarter.
According to Atta, between Jan 1 and March 25, the association served only 214,213 Chinese tourists, a 47% year-on-year decrease.
Although last month Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met President Xi Jinping, vowing to crack down on cyber-scams, the government hasn’t talked directly to Chinese tour operators about ensuring safe travel, he said.
Mr Thanapol is managing director of tour company Quality Express and a previous Atta vice-president.
He served as president of the Association of Domestic Travel from 2020 to 2022, and president of the Thai Travel Agents Association from 2018 to 2020.
To restore Chinese tourism confidence, the association plans to hold a roadshow to second-tier cities in China in May, inviting over 100 Thai operators and 400-500 Chinese operators.
He said under his term, he will include more committees from regional areas in the northern and southern provinces in the association, in order to boost tourism more effectively, including to second-tier cities.
As the tourism trend is shifting away from large tour groups, Atta will also prioritise attracting smaller leisure groups, while boosting the Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) segment.
As the government pledged to develop new manmade attractions via the entertainment complex bill, including legalised casinos, Mr Thanapol said he welcomed this scheme to stimulate tourism.
However, he said he is still worried about how the government can properly regulate its operation to prevent illegal actions.
It should also assure benefits for locals, by offering an appropriate employment quota, not only benefiting foreign workers.
Mr Thanapol said the government should also focus on developing other infrastructure to provide a seamless travel experience and compete with other overseas destinations.
Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong announced on Wednesday plans to propose the new domestic tourism co-payment scheme to the cabinet before the Songkran holiday. The ministry plans to use a central budget worth 3.55 billion baht to accommodate 1 million bookings.
The government plans to subsidise accommodation fees by 40% in major cities and 50% in second-tier cities, at no more than 3,000 baht per night. Each person is subject to no more than 10 bookings during the programme.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is also holding the Amazing Thailand Festival 2025 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center until March 30, expecting 130,000 visitors across five days.
