All Thai athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including the medallists, will become sports tourism ambassadors to showcase their hometowns, both in key and second-tier provinces.
“The ministry’s key mission is to use sports to enhance tourism, distributing income to local communities,” Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanit said on Friday.
After the athletes return from the Games, he said the ministry will check their schedules with the relevant sports associations to invite them to participate in tourism and sports events across Thailand, hoping to attract sports fans to greet or congratulate them.
When the Paralympic Games end, the ministry and the government will hold a welcoming ceremony for all national athletes, then decide on the tourism campaigns it aims to launch in the final quarter, said Mr Sermsak.
There are 130 Thai athletes competing in the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games this year.
He said the ministry would start the first phase of promotional events with a limited number of athletes, as some might be unavailable because of existing contracts with other organisations and sponsors.
The promotion would match the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s initiative to boost tourism in second-tier provinces, which are home to many athletes, said Mr Sermsak.
He said the athletes have already made their hometowns proud by participating in the most prestigious competition in the world, which could make the towns more attractive to tourists from nearby provinces.
For the long term, Mr Sermsak said the ministry would continue to try to attract world-class sporting events to Thailand, aiming to lure more visitors while allowing Thai athletes to develop their skills by competing with international players.
He said the ministry also wants to ensure an established career path for retired athletes, such as encouraging them to set up sports training schools to produce new athletes with high potential to win international competitions, along with support for the development of sports science knowledge to elevate their performance.