Tourism leaders have urged hotels and local businesses to improve the quality of their products and services to help create brand awareness in the international market and reduce costs in the long run.
Udom Srimahachota, vice-president of the Thai Hotels Association's (THA) western chapter, said operators, especially small and medium-sized hotels, travel companies and local businesses, need to improve their products and services to enhance competitiveness.
Thailand is a leader in hospitality service in Southeast Asia with plenty of attractions.
However, low competitiveness could mean Thailand lags among emerging markets, notably Vietnam, said Mr Udom.
Operators should prepare to cope with the changing tourism landscape by building their own brand and securing trusted national or international standards.
Several standards have been created for high-quality standards, with certificates such as the Thailand Tourism Award or Kinnari Award, which is certified by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and offered every two years.
The Green Leaf Awards for hotel business is granted by Green Leaf Foundation and Hotel Ratings, judged by the THA.
"Because tourists and travel operators in many countries seriously consider the standard of products and services and many of them prefer working with certified operators," Mr Udom said.
Last year, a total of 312 operators, mostly big companies and organisations engaged in tourism business such as tourism support and promotion agencies, tour programme, tourists attractions, accommodations and health tourism received the Kinnari Award.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the Kinnari certification could help bring operators to the attention of foreign alliances and bring tourists into the country.
"The creation of valued-added tourism products and services through Thailand Tourism Awards is set in the vision of the Asean Tourism Strategy Plan 2016-2025," Mr Yuthasak said.
Mr Udom said if operators take about 3-5 years to upgrade facilities and equipment, human resources and IT systems, they will receive satisfactory returns in the long term.
He said that operating costs may reduce by 15% annually if an operator secures one tourism standard. Moreover, the standard could place the firm on top listings or chosen as a business partner.
Some international hotel chains such as Accor have started asking hotel owners across Southeast Asia to improve their products and services to meet with Accor standards. Accor will audit performance and certify hotels under its management.
Build niche market
Neeracha Wongmasa, president of Thai Eco-tourism and Adventure Travel Association (Teata), has urged SME operators, especially those located in provinces, to build their own brand in order to differentiate products and services from others and to reach out targeted markets.
One segment that requires promotion is eco and adventure tourism because this segment has been booming in many countries, especially in Europe, South Korea and Japan.
"Operators in those countries have improved their products and have been able to increase prices. Thailand should follow the strategy," Ms Neeracha said.
Samarnnopphon Ratanathamthitaya, head of product and operations at Diethelm Travel Thailand, said one of the best ways to help increase the price of travel packages or hotel room rates is to provide unique products to customers.
Unique products can be tailor-made packages that offer customers immersive travel experiences such as temple tours, village visits, culture and historical site tours, and Thai cooking classes.
Diethelm has dedicated years to securing a customer base that is 100% from the European market and it bagged Kinnari's best inbound tour programme in 2017, which further helped the company get quality tourists, he said.
SME Bank assistance
The Department of Tourism, Industry Ministry, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a Pracha Rat (People's State) programme to assist tourism SMEs.
The department's director-general Anan Wongbenjarat said under the MoU, the three agencies will launch joint activities to strengthen tourism SMEs and related businesses so they can access the Pracha Rat SME Fund and other services from SME Bank.
The department will provide support for tourism information and public relations, and by providing information for tourists to gain access to community-based tourist attractions and sites in the Creative Industry Village, which are supported by the Industry Ministry and SME Bank.
SMEs who are clients of SME Bank or those targeted by the Industry Ministry will also receive assistance from the department to help them develop community-based tourism and improve services.
The support may be in the form of activities, speakers, or experts.
SME Bank president Mongkol Leelatham said most SME operators are in local communities but actually play an important part in rural economies.
The bank provides several low-interest loans such as "Thao Kae 4.0 Loan Program" that offers a special interest rate at 1% with a three-year grace period. This programme is also open to SMEs with financial problems, including those under debt restructuring plans and those with inconsistent debt payments.
Another loan programme, "Sin Chuea Setthakit Tid Dao" has a low interest rate of 3% with the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation acting as guarantor free of charge for the first four years.
Mr Mongkol said SME Bank will also assist clients with business consultations and management know-how.