Issue 10: 18 Aug 2014

Long regarded as an ideal destination for backpackers, Thailand’s tourism authority is now looking towards the region’s heavy spenders.

Aiming for high-value traveller, Thailand has prepared a wide range of boutique ac-commodations and services.

Cheap hotels, cheap food and cheap transport have attracted backpackers from all over the world to Thailand for decades. Now, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is marketing a luxury experience targeting a different type of visitor all together. “TAT calls them high-value travellers,” says Yuvadee Nirattakun, the director of the Market Research Division of TAT. “This year, TAT is aiming for high-value travellers from ASEAN.”

It seems natural for TAT to focus on ASEAN elite travellers. About 25%, or seven million, of the 26 million tourists that visited Thailand in 2013 came from ASEAN. And of the 500 million people who live in the region, nine million are regarded as high-value travellers.

Usually, these much sought after nine million go to Europe, Japan, and USA. “My job [as a market researcher] is to find what they want from these countries, and what can Thailand offer,” says Nirattakun, adding that Thailand has everything from shopping malls, boutique hotels and spas to designer brands and quality services that the discerning visitor might crave.

To give one example, Nirattakun discovered that Vietnamese tourists are interested in cosmetics and beauty treatments. So, TAT offers them a full range of packages – from a simple makeover to complete plastic surgery in one of the capital’s world-renowned international hospitals. TAT also offers medical vacations, with everything from routine check ups to IVF treatment. While specifically for Filipinos who love shopping, TAT is planning a Billionaire Tour of the capital’s premier shopping options.

Nirattakun believes that the benefit the country reaps from these high-value tourists is not just monetary. “They come from high society,” she says. “What they do and what they use are more effective than a billboard.”

With the relaxing ambiance, Thailand is one of the best tourist destinations in the world.

For Nirattakun, one of the project’s aims is to give Thailand’s image a chic facelift. “We are also looking for a boutique tour,” she says. “Boutique hotels, boutiques airlines … TAT is planning to bunch them together. It is going to present local chic-ness, something local that is captivating in foreigners’ eyes.”

Outside of the capital, Nirattikun reveals a plan to make northern Chiang Mai into a centre for young Thai designers.

And Nirattikun believes that all this is made possible by the global trend towards individual identity. “From my experience, some rich Singaporeans fly to Thailand on a weekly basis to buy Thai brands,” she says. Nirattikun believes that such trends indicate Thailand’s massive potential for tapping into the region’s plentiful big spenders.

For more information, visit http://www.tourismthailand.org

Words by Ratipol Opasjaroenkij