The cabinet has approved a budget of 433 million baht for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to promote tourism during the low season through online promotions and events.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) also hopes to increase domestic tourism revenue by as much as 20% to 1.2 trillion baht this year to mitigate the risk from overdependence on international markets.
Tourism Minister Sermsak Pongpanit said the two stimulus schemes are expected to generate 17 billion baht and will be presented under the theme “The Charm of Thai”.
Both domestic and foreign tourists are encouraged to visit five regions with extended stays to increase tourism income, including more distribution to local communities.
Mr Sermsak said that for the first project, the TAT will collaborate with nine online travel agents — Agoda, Meituan, MakeMyTrip, Traveloka, Ascend Travel, Trip, TripAdvisor, Klook and Tagthai — to offer promotional packages for trips during August and September.
This project, worth 280 million baht, aims to increase forward bookings and hotel occupancy rates, as well as airline bookings, with an overall transaction value of 2.8 billion baht, adding at least 185,000 visitors.
The second project will focus on festivals and events in September, highlighting sports, arts, music and culture. Campaigns to boost spending in major and second-tier cities will be supported as needed.
Notable events in the pipeline, which is expected to generate 750 million baht, include the Chiang Mai Art and Music Festival, art installations and performances in Nakhon Si Thammarat, the River of Time event in Kanchanaburi, and the Chon Buri International Music Festival in the Rain.
TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said that with a projection of 7.5% revenue growth for 2025, the agency will prioritise increasing domestic tourism revenue to diversify risks from depending too much on the international market, particularly when global economic conditions and geopolitical conflicts are affecting travel.
Last month, the agency announced an official target of 205 million domestic trips in 2025, lower than the 220 million trips projected earlier.
Ms Thapanee said 205 million trips would be the baseline, but in practical terms, the agency still aims to reach 220 million, achieving 1.2 trillion baht revenue, compared to 1 trillion baht estimated earlier.
To overcome weak local purchasing power, the agency will encourage tourists to increase the number of short trips they take per year, which would help lower the budget of each trip. This could also help circulate tourism income to more destinations and spur tourism flows to periods other than holidays.
