Keeping
the momentum going will be a challenge, though, as the weak
baht loses its novelty value, and destinations such as the
Caribbean compete for Westerners' cash
Amazing timing turns the tide
Peerawat Jariyasombat
The two-year Amazing Thailand campaign
is ending on a high note, with tourism arrivals surging thanks
to a combination of timing and luck.
When the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) first announced
the campaign in late 1997, sceptics said it had done insufficient
advance work. To make matters worse, the TAT's budget was slashed
as part of the government's recession-induced austerity drive.
The TAT, they said, would need some luck to reach its ambitious
tourist arrival and spending goals. The luck, while bad for many,
came in the form of the plunging baht, which became a boon for
tourism operators in attracting bargain-hunting foreigners. Indonesia's
misfortunes, fuelled by social and economic instability, also
worked in Thailand's favour as many travellers passed on Bali
and headed to booming Phuket.
In 1998 the country attracted 7.76 million foreign tourists,
a bit above its target of 7.72 million. The 1999 target of 8.28
million appears easily within reach.
In the first nine months of 1999, tourist arrivals to Thailand
grew by 11.14% due to economic recovery in Asian markets and solid
growth from many western countries. The average length of stay
of tourists decreased slightly to 8.1 days from 8.4, according
to the TAT.
Growth
from Europe was sluggish, though, and policy-makers acknowledged
that competition for European tourist cash was becoming very stiff.
The Caribbean, long favoured by North American vacationers, was
emerging as a prime beach destination for a growing number of
Europeans.
Arrivals from East Asian markets rose year-on-year by 13.9% in
the first nine months of 1999, to 3.83 million. Most tourists
from these countries preferred cheaper trips to regional destinations
in line with the economic situation.
The Chinese and Japanese markets maintained their high growth
while Korea and Indonesia continued to recover after a sharp drop
that had persisted into the first quarter of 1999. After a long
period of flat growth, arrivals from Singapore and Malaysia started
increasing again. But arrivals from Hong Kong kept falling without
any sign of a rebound.
Continued healthy growth from East Asia appears likely, but the
competition among all Asian countries to attract higher-spending
Westerners will intensify. The weaker baht, while still a strong
inducement to tourists, is no longer such a novelty since many
of the region's currencies have fallen by similar rates since
1997.
Thailand's challenge will be to attract more first-time visitors
from already strong markets such as the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
As well, officials say, first-time visitors tend to spend more
than repeaters.
During the first three quarters of 1999, European tourist arrivals
rose by 7% to 1.4 million, compared with double-digit growth during
the recession two years ago.
Affluent Scandinavian visitors, most of whom fly directly to
Phuket on charters and stay for a long time, are one of the country's
most promising markets at the moment. But Thailand has been losing
business since the second quarter of 1999 from Austrian, German
and French tourists, who are finding cheaper packages to the Caribbean.
At the same time, though, there is optimism about growth in Austrian
and Italian rivals with the emergence of a direct Vienna-Phuket
route.
Tourist arrivals from the Americas rose by 15.7% to 360,806 in
the first nine months of 1999, led by Canada and the United States
with 30% growth due to those countries' booming economies.
Problems in many destinations, such as unrest in Indonesia, Hurricane
Floyd in the Caribbean and Central America, and the earthquake
in Greece, drove many tourists to seek new holiday spots, and
Thailand benefited as a result.
Arrivals from South Asia rose by 4.4% to 199,441 in the first
three quarters of 1999. India, which Thailand sees as an important
new visitor source, had high growth in the third quarter, with
many group tours as well as new segments such as young people,
families and young women.
Bali, the main beach resort competition to Thailand in the region,
has begun to win back visitors from Australia and New Zealand.
However, tension between Australia and Indonesia over East Timor
caused some Australian tour operators to boycott Indonesia. Many,
however, sent their clients to Fiji rather than Thailand because
of aggressive price-cutting in the South Pacific nation.
Streaming in ... tourist arrivals grew 11.14% in 1999
Thai Airways International is looking to shore up business, though,
with a new route linking Thailand, Australia and New Zealand,
which opened in October. Visas on arrival for cruise tourists
disembarking at Phuket are another inducement.
Arrivals from the Middle East have been improving along with
rising oil prices. As well, health tours offered by THAI's Royal
Orchid Holidays and private hospitals are successfully attracting
Middle Eastern visitors who face very high health-care costs at
home.
On another front, Thai embassies have been promoting the country
as a good stopover for tourists travelling on long-haul trips
to Australia and New Zealand. The coming of the Sydney Olympics
next year is expected to increase this form of stopover holiday.
Although the baht has grown stronger, making Thailand slightly
less of a bargain in the eyes of Westerners, Phuket and Samui
are now much better established on the international tourism map.
Hoteliers on both islands continue to enjoy high-season occupancy
rates of 90% or more.
The domestic economic recovery, meanwhile, has revived outbound
traffic after two years of sluggishness. In the first nine months
of 1999, 1.2 million Thais made overseas trips, up by 22.2% from
the same period last year. Australia and New Zealand destinations
benefited the most, with Thai tourist traffic to the two countries
rising by 56.2% to 39,730 in the first nine months of 1999. Thai
arrivals also rose by around 30% in Europe, the United States
and Canada.
The TAT has responded with a revived version of its Thais Tour
Thailand campaign, which seeks to encourage people to spend their
money at home and prevent foreign-exchange losses. The campaign
has been successful at a certain level, but it could hardly change
the minds of regular overseas travellers, industry executives
say.
In April 1999 alone, the peak
season for outbound traffic, the number of outbound Thai travellers
grew by 37% from a year earlier. Steadily higher growth in outbound
traffic is expected in 2000 if the current signs of economic recovery
hold and consumer confidence continues to grow.
Looking at marketing, the tourism industry agrees that the opening
of the skytrain in traffic-choked Bangkok has provided a tremendous
opportunity to promote the capital. In recent years, the average
length of stay in Bangkok has been slipping, with many visitors
preferring to spend as little as one night in the capital before
moving on to a beach or mountain destination.
The ease of access offered by the BTS train system will provide
an impetus to the Shopping Street project on Ploen Chit, Rama
I and Rajdamri roads.
Bangkok wants to be known for more than just shopping, though.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has declared 2000 the
City of Culture year, with a variety of plans for artistic and
cultural activities.
As of December, though, the calendar of events was not complete,
and it was far too late to market the campaign overseas. Usually,
at least six months are required to get promotions into travel
agents' programmes in order to build traveller demand.
Even the TAT itself has no specific marketing plan yet for 2000
to match the dazzle of Amazing Thailand. However, it plans to
continue the Amazing Thailand theme, which has become a highly
recognised brand image worldwide.
''Thai uniqueness with international standards will be the benchmark
for the year 2000. We must improve our tourism [products] to meet
international standards, but develop Thai uniqueness to draw the
foreign tourists,'' said Pradech Phayakvichien, the TAT governor.
Under the slogan ''Enchantment for the Next Thousand Years'',
Thailand will emphasise tourist destinations that are representative
of distinctive Thai culture and lifestyles. Traditional medicine,
agriculture, food and other elements will receive increased attention.
Growth
from Europe was sluggish, though, and policy-makers acknowledged
that competition for European tourist cash was becoming very stiff.
The Caribbean, long favoured by North American vacationers, was
emerging as a prime beach destination for a growing number of
Europeans.
In April 1999 alone, the peak
season for outbound traffic, the number of outbound Thai travellers
grew by 37% from a year earlier. Steadily higher growth in outbound
traffic is expected in 2000 if the current signs of economic recovery
hold and consumer confidence continues to grow.
