The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa) has urged the government to host the development of a "single window" to promote ease of doing business for foreigners that would unite all related data exchange of state agencies as another effort to promote the digital-driven tourism industry.
The single window could be in the form of a platform-as-a-service operated via a centralised data portal that connects with all agencies to significantly drive travel-related products and services in the country.
The single window is aimed to serve emerging trends in tourism related to the digital nomad sector, allowing individuals to work online from anywhere, any time, as Thailand is a famous destination in this tourist sector, said Depa president and chief executive Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin.
"Thailand has the core potential to become a tourism hub in the region, thanks to its geographic advantages as well as the readiness of its digital infrastructure and the attractive cost of living."
Mr Nuttapon said the cost of living for foreigners in Thailand is US$1,000 per month, compared to $3,000 in Europe.
Thailand's internet penetration rate is currently at 88% per capita, with household internet penetration at 43.7%. Thailand ranks 11th globally in home internet speed and second in Asean.
Recently, IMD Switzerland, a global authority on competitiveness rankings, reported Thailand's outstanding performance in telecommunications infrastructure, ranking fifth globally.
The report cites Thailand's high telecom investment, ranking fifth globally, and its internet bandwidth speed quality, also ranking fifth globally. This underscores Thailand's readiness to harness digital technology for economic development and tourism transformation.
Mr Nuttapon said the government, through several agencies, has implemented incentives to attract foreign investors and tourists via measures such as visa incentives and taxation incentives by the Board of Investment (BoI).
However, foreign startups and investors have voiced concerns that they face inconvenience in terms of ease of doing business.
Mr Nuttapon added that the platform-as-a-service is needed to complement the country's digital tourism policy.
Meanwhile, all related agencies and departments have to sincerely collaborate to connect their application programming interface with the central data portal.
Mr Nuttapon said the collaboration should involve the Customs Department, the Immigration Bureau, the Revenue Department, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry, the BoI and the Thai Bankers' Association. The Digital Government Development Agency may function as a centre of the development.
ThailandCONNEX
Mr Nuttapon said Depa and Travizgo Technology Co in 2022 developed and launched ThailandCONNEX, a comprehensive digital tourism application platform.
The platform has already connected limitless market opportunities through over 108,000 business operators in its first year of operation, offering more than 201,000 travel-related products and services while potentially generating an economic value exceeding 12 billion baht.
The platform is under the Digital Tourism campaign, unleashing opportunities for industry operators after the pandemic.
The platform operates as a central intermediary within a business-to-business wholesale framework for Thai tourism operators. It enables members to access and showcase products and services to local and international online travel agents.
In addition, the platform offers a digital tourism data bank and digital tokens for users.
The platform's activities encompass various marketing campaigns that create opportunities for high-level executives from both the public and private sectors, tourism operators and Thai and international influencers to convene and exchange ideas.
Depa actively extends invitations to entrepreneurs in the tourism industry to join the ThailandCONNEX platform and participate in digital tourism business matching events.
The primary objective of this initiative is to impart knowledge and enhance digital skills for Thai tourism operators while also showcasing digital technologies and innovations from travel tech companies at the Digital Tourism Fair and Digital Tourism Unboxed events.
The Digital Tourism campaign has received a positive response and achieved its objectives.
More than 2,900 tourism operators and interested individuals as well as over 50 travel tech businesses have harnessed tourism digital technology through the use of over 5,600 digital coupons, resulting in an economic value of over 260 million baht.
The ThailandCONNEX platform's popularity has risen. Tourism operators, such as accommodation providers, restaurants and vehicle rental services, have joined the platform, currently totalling 108,659 businesses.
This is regarded as a significant contribution to the recovery of the Thai tourism industry and the advancement of the country towards a digital economy and society, according to Depa.
