Niche markets

The pursuit of niche markets is a major component of the strategy to position Thailand as the Tourism Capital of Asia in three years.
While attracting mass-market tourism is not seen as posing any problem, it is felt that equal emphasis needs to be placed on targeting high-level niche markets, comprising visitors who stay longer and spend more.
Among some of these key niche markets are: health & wellness, medical tourism, long-stay retirees, golfers and film-makers.





SPAS, HEALTH
AND WELLNESS
The spa and health business is perhaps the fastest growing niche market. According to a recent survey by the Singapore-based Intelligent Spas Pte Ltd, Thailand’s spa industry is worth US$ 85 million, and has grown 64% in three years. During 2001/2002, Thai spas had an estimated 3.3 million visitors, of whom 80% were from abroad.
Nearly every major hotel has some kind of spa facility. While many are first-rate and world-class, others are not. Hence, in March 2003, Thailand’s first spa association was set up primarily to uphold industry standards and ensure that clients are aware of those places that are genuinely committed to providing high-quality service.
At its inception, Thailand Spa Association (TSPA) had a total of 44 members, including 12 hotels/resorts, 12 day spas, two destination spas, two medical spas and the remainder spa consultants, training schools and suppliers of equipment and products.
It took more than a year to put the association together, with one of the problems being that the government was unsure whether to classify the association under the category of hotel or hospital.
The association’s first President, Mrs. Naphalai Areesorn, says it will work hard to ensure that the country’s well-deserved reputation for high standards is maintained.





MEDITATION CENTRES
For those who cannot afford spas and seek beauty that is more than just skin deep, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is promoting the growing number of Buddhist temples and centres where visitors can learn how to meditate.
Thailand has become a leading centre of Buddhist learning and has a growing number of nationwide meditation retreats, located in cities, on beaches and in the forests.
A new brochure, recently published by TAT, identifies 18 such centres. Visitors live in dormitories, eat spartan food, follow a simple life and listen to lectures in English. Many of these centres have also set up websites and are attracting hundreds of visitors from all over the world.

MEDICAL TOURISM
While spas and meditation are designed to help prevent health problems, a huge business is being generated amongst those who already have problems, and need treatment.
Many Thai hospitals and medical centres, which have recently been listed on The Stock Exchange of Thailand to raise funds for investment in equipment and construction, see a formidable revenue stream in attracting clients for medical check-ups.
According to TAT, the cost of getting a medical check-up in Thailand is a fraction of what it costs in more developed countries. Language problems notwithstanding, a number of major Thai hospitals have learned the ropes of the travel business and are marketing themselves to local tour operators. Many are also regular participants at international trade shows, like ITB in Berlin and the Arabian Travel Mart.
Indeed, the whole business of linkage between the hospitals and the travel industry took a step forward when Thai Airways International (THAI) began packaging medical check-ups as part of its Royal Orchid Holidays programme.

LONG-STAY RETIREES
Linked to the health-and-holiday concept is the promotion of long-stay visitors, which is mainly targetted at getting retirees from countries that have harsh winters and a higher cost of living to stay for extended periods in Thailand, where it is both warmer and less expensive. Senior citizens from Europe and Japan are a primary target.
Originally, plans had called for a special company to be set up to market this sector, which is seen as having corresponding spin-off benefits for a number of sub-sectors like housing, health, transportation, and even recreation.
Those plans have changed somewhat and the government is now looking into creating another company that will run a card-based operation for both long-stay and frequent visitors.
The Thai government has created a special category of one-year visa, which is extended to applicants if they can prove that they are over 50 and either have a deposit of 800,000 baht or a minimum monthly income of 65,000 baht.
A special brochure for long-stay visitors says, “To put those figures into context, costs in Thailand are such that visitors may enjoy a good standard of living for an average of 50,000 baht a month.”

GOLF
About 350,000 visitors are believed to have played golf in Thailand in 2002, generating an expenditure of nearly 6.2 billion baht. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is planning to raise these figures to one million golfers, generating an estimated 18.45 billion baht by 2007.
In 2004 alone, the plan is to attract 400,000 golfers, who will generate an estimated 7.1 billion baht, or an increase of 14.29% over 2002.
There are over 200 high-standard golf courses nationwide. As most of the courses are located in the provinces, promoting golf also furthers the TAT policy of ensuring that tourism earnings are evenly spread throughout the provinces.
The first Thailand Golf Mart was organised in 1998 and has been held annually ever since. It was last held in May 2003, when the number of overseas buyers increased 9% over the 2002 Mart.

FILM-MAKERS
Thailand is rapidly gaining popularity as a filming location.
During 2000-2002, the number of shoots for feature movies, long advertising spots, television programmes and music videos rose from 402 to 481. More significantly, the budgets involved in these shoots rose from 450 million baht to 1,401 million baht per year during that period.
During the first two months of 2003 alone, a total of 85 shoots were under way in Thailand, with a budget of over 750 million baht. Japanese, European and Indian units were the three largest. Other major units came from Hong Kong and the U.S.A.
In January 2003, TAT organised the Bangkok International Film Festival, which featured 113 international films, 26 Thai films and 130 animation films. This was followed up in March 2003 when the Board of Investment (BOI), the Department of Export Promotion and the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) conducted a seminar with the private sector to identify ways to improve Thailand’s competitiveness internationally.
This includes ways to make Thailand a regional centre of film production, right across from pre-filming preparation to post-filming work. Ways being considered to support the film industry include:
• Granting specific Board of Investment privileges.
• Lower taxes and customs duties for importing filming equipment and material.
• Exempting international performers from paying income taxes in Thailand.
• Extending low-interest loans from the Bank for Small-Medium Enterprises for Thai companies wishing to get involved in the business.
• Facilitating issuance of visas and work permits for international film experts.

Back to top