The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans to use travel technology to expand tourism in the Nordic market, where more than 80% of travellers are independent tourists and there are many repeat visitors.
The market, spanning Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, is considered high-end: tourists spend an average of 87,000 baht for a trip averaging 17 days, the lengthiest among European countries, said Supranee Pongpat, the TAT executive director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Many free independent travellers (FITs) arrange their trips and book tourism services online, giving Thailand an opportunity to present new destinations and services via the digital platform, she said.
To tap the growing digital trend, the TAT has launched the "Bringing the New Shades of Thailand to Nordic Travellers" project in order to find partners among startups and travel techs to help promote tourism via online platforms.
Required partners for the project are startups that are able to support products and services related to travel tech, hospitality, wellness lifestyle, tourism lifestyle, food services, transport and community-based and local experiences.
Applicants can apply until July 14 and must present tourism products and services under the theme "New Shades of Thailand", which aims to boost tourism in smaller provinces.
Ms Supranee said she expects the project to bring in more travellers from the region and add 3-5% revenue growth on top of about 65 billion baht generated from the market last year.
She said about 700,000 Nordics visit Thailand each year from a combined population of 25 million, of whom 10 million carry passports for travel outside the region.
Although those travellers are FITs, many of them are senior travellers and it's necessary for startups to design products to suit them.
"The new products and services should be presented via the digital platform some time ahead of winter, the favourite time for them to travel to Thailand," Ms Supranee said. "However, we also want them to visit us in other seasons."
Nordic visitors are fond of tranquil and relaxing areas, not mass tourism destinations, leading the TAT to look for local startups in provinces rich in culture such as Nan, Sukhothai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and Phrae.
In addition, travel techs in beach towns such as Khanom in Nakhon Si Thammarat are also needed.