Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn and Expedia Group’s director of market management Pimpawee Nopakitgumjorn, yesterday signed an MoU to boost tourism to secondary cities in the country, aligned with the TAT’s direction.

As part of the MOU, the collaboration will include the sharing of traveller-centric insights and trends that will boost TAT’s capabilities to plan effective promotional campaigns to attract more travellers and encourage longer stays in Thailand.

From left: Yuthasak Supasorn (TAT) and Pimpawee Nopakitgumjorn (Expedia)

Both parties are also expected to embark on joint destination marketing campaigns to spotlight Thailand’s hidden and unique tourist attractions in its secondary cities, promoting the variety of lodgings to Expedia Group’s 675-plus million monthly visitors globally.

Expedia Group will also launch key programmes in destination marketing and skills transfer to the local hospitality industry in secondary cities. Workshops for local hotel partners will include ways to leverage Expedia Group’s Partner Central platform to accelerate skills development and build revenue and hotel management capabilities among local SME hotels.

Other aspects of the cooperation include a joint corporate social responsibility campaign aimed at enhancing environmental consciousness among hotels in Thailand and reducing the use of single-use and general plastic items in their properties. This is targeted at reducing the environmental pollution and damage resulting from tourism growth.

Pimpawee said, “A large majority of accommodations in secondary cities are still primarily offline which means international travellers cannot find or book them easily. This results in missed opportunities for hoteliers, as they are not capitalising on the growth of inbound travellers.

“We will be launching a series of initiatives to educate them on the value of online distribution. They will also have access to our partner-facing tool, which allows them to effectively manage their rates and availability, online content and guest satisfaction. By improving the digital skills of the hospitality sector, we will play a pivotal role in boosting the local economy.”

The post Expedia joins hands with Thailand Tourism to boost local hospitality appeared first on TravHQ.

Thailand welcomed more than 1.4 million Indians to its shores in 2017, marking an 18% increase from the year before. India also ranks in top five list of highest number of visitors to Thailand after China, Malaysia, Korea and Laos.

Thailand saw more than 35.3 million international visitors in 2017 and earned THB (Thai Baht) 1.82 trillion in tourism revenue. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Mumbai showcased its new campaigns ‘Open to the New Shades of Thailand’ and ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018′ at OTM 2018 held in Mumbai from 18th- 20th January 2018. Soraya Homchuen, Director, TAT, said, “We are initiating many unique activities and projects this year that will focus on promoting women, family and first time traveller segments for the Indian market. OTM is India’s largest and most international gathering of travel trade buyers and professionals, and most importantly it is conducted in Mumbai each year which is headquarters to almost all major outbound tour operators.”

Santi Chudintra, Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Asia and the South Pacific), said, “The new campaign ‘Open to the New Shades of Thailand’ aims to give more attention to unique local experiences and inclusive tourism, reflecting Thainess and the Thai people’s warmth in welcoming visitors. Within this, there is a focus on specific customer segments; such as, gastronomy tourism, luxury, weddings and honeymoons, families, female travellers and Gen Y. Also the new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’ has been launched to support the government’s national tourism development plan, ensuring that Thailand remains a preferred destination and delivers a quality product; thus boosting the average length of stay, expenditure and repeat visit.”

The destination presentation showcased various new regions and provinces of Thailand that Indians should visit like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Khao Yai, Rayong, Ko Chang, and also highlighted various uber luxury experiences available in Thailand.

The post India ranks among top 5 list of highest number of visitors to Thailand in 2017 appeared first on TravHQ.

Rich content plays a very important role in driving business in our industry. At the planning stage, it inspires you to travel and that is why most of the travel brands tell stories in different ways using a variety of platforms. A large volume of this inspirational content comes from travel writers, photographers and social media savvy travel professionals. TBEX is the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers, social influencers and industry professionals. It offers an opportunity for them to learn, network and explore new possibilities.

TBEX Asia 2015 will be held from 15-17 October 2015 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok. Over 600 travel writers are expected to attend this edition of TBEX Asia with almost 30 percent of them from Europe. There will be a plethora of activities during the event including sessions around various topics. Here are some of the interesting sessions you cant afford to miss at this year’s event.

#1. ‘Writing workshop’ by Don George

Being termed as the most influential travel writer and editor of his generation, there can’t be a better individual to give you some tips on how to write great stories than Don George. He will be hosting a Writing Workshop on the opening day which will attract a lot of attention from the travel bloggers and content creators at the event.

#2. ‘Dare to be Different’ by Evo Terra

Mediocrity is a curse and in the age of mobile and internet when it is very easy for anyone to set up a blog and start writing, you can’t afford to be ordinary. Evo Terra, along with his wife, sold everything to lead a full time travel life. With his experience of telling stories through ‘The Opportunistic Travelers’, he will tell you how not to blog like everyone else.

#3. ‘Everything You Know About Millennials Is Wrong’ by Matt Ridings

With the increasing number of millennial travellers, most travel brands, from hotels to tour providers, are trying to tailor products to suit them. But are they doing it right? In his session, Matt Ridings will try to clear out some misconceptions brands have about the millennial travellers.

#4. ‘The Buying Decision:  How Travelers Consume & Use Information’ by Sara Meaney

While sending out the marketing message, it is very important for travel brands to understand how the consumers receive it and make their decision. Sara Meaney comes with strong experience as a tourism marketing professional and will share insights for travel brands on how travellers consume the information they are served with.

#5. ‘How DMCs and Tourist Boards Can Creative Successful Blogger Trips’ by Michael Collins

Destinations often join hands with travel bloggers so that they can reach out to wider audience and promote the destination among the bloggers’ community. Michael Collins will share some pointers for DMCs so that they can make the most out of the blogger associations to promote the destination.

#6. ‘The State of travel Blogging in Asia’ by Mariellen Ward, Jade Johnston & Maggie Wu

The travel blogging scene is very different in India and other Asian countries as compared to Europe or Americas. Avid travellers and experienced bloggers Mariellen Ward, Jade Johnston & Maggie Wu will talk about, the state of travel blogging in Asia, new trends that are emerging and might also share some success secrets.

There will be many other interesting sessions during the 3 days event that will help bloggers and travel brands make the most out of their resources. Along with that, there will be Pre and Post-BEX tours for the attendees so that they can experience the local culture in the best possible manner. You can check the TBEX Asia website for complete schedule and keep a track of all the activities from the event by following #TBEXAsia on Twitter.

TBEX Asia 2015 is being supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. It is also supported by some major players in the industry like Thai Airways and Skyscanner signifying the importance of travel blogging for the industry. The airline partner Thai Airways has been running special discounts for people coming to Thailand for the event. It will give a much needed boost to tourism in Thailand which got hit after the recent bombing attacks. The TBEX Asia will again promote Thailand as the amazing tourist destination it is.

The post TBEX Asia’15 gets underway next week, here is what you need to know appeared first on TravHQ.