The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aims to increase tourism revenue in 55 secondary provinces by 20%, with a total of 91 million trips this year, although the target lags the goal for key provinces.
For the first nine months of last year, the 55 secondary tourism provinces attracted 73 million trips out of a total of 185 million, tallying revenue of 169 billion baht. Projected domestic revenue for the full year is 900 billion baht.
Somradee Chitchong, deputy governor for domestic marketing at TAT, said even though average spending in second-tier provinces last year increased by 3.05% to 2,313 baht per trip, the rate was lower than the 2,760 baht logged in 2019 and 2,540 baht in 2020.
Spending in less popular destinations paled in comparison to average spending nationwide of 4,000 baht per trip.
According to TAT, second-tier provinces with low levels of tourism revenue were mostly concentrated in the northeastern and north regions, with 18 and 16 provinces respectively, while the southern, central and eastern regions have nine, seven and five provinces, respectively.
Ms Somradee said of the domestic revenue goal of 1.08 trillion baht set for this year, the central region should secure the highest tally at 464 billion baht, growth of 40%, followed by the North at 187 billion, up 21%, and the East at 178 billion, a gain of 23%.
Southern provinces, which are typically the main destination for foreigners, are expected to have the highest growth of 54%, racking up income of 166 billion baht, while the Northeast is forecast to earn 92.8 billion, up 35%.
In terms of visitors, the central region is forecast to account for half of domestic tourists, drawing 103 million trips, growth of 50%, as more tourists from other regions visit Bangkok. Tourists in the central region are also choosing nearby provinces instead of taking cross-regional trips, attributed to high travel expenses.
"The key direction in 2024 is to stimulate the tourism economy in second-tier provinces to narrow the income gap. However, the weakness is a supply shortage as some provinces don't know how to develop tourism products to lure visitors, especially amid stagnant purchasing power," she said.
The agency has a restricted budget, so it drafted a promotional plan lasting until April based on a 400-million-baht interim budget the TAT was allocated.
The TAT is awaiting the fiscal 2024 budget, which is expected to be approved in May.
The promotional plan starts with spiritual tourism this month as every province in the country has religious attractions to draw tourists.
The Chinese New Year celebration occurs in February, followed by the Thailand Tourism Festival month in March, with an annual fair planned at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
The focus in April is Songkran across the country, said Ms Somradee.
