TAT teams up with local travel firms for new land tour

      The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working with travel companies in Vietnam over a package tour by car to the southern region of the country in a fresh move to attract more Vietnamese travelers.
Pichai Raktasinha, director of TAT’s HCMC office, told the Daily that the land tour taking in Thailand’s renowned tourist destinations, including Pattaya and Bangkok, would soon be available for booking at travel companies in southern Vietnam.
Raktasinha said as the land tour targeted Vietnamese travelers from southern provinces of Vietnam, tourists would travel by car from these localities, including Can Tho, to Cambodia for a one-night stay before arriving in southern Thailand.
“Southern Thailand is renowned as the land of fruits from April till August, when visitors can taste a wide range of tropical fruits like durian,” Raktasinha said. He estimated the tour at five to six days and US$300 per person.
Raktasinha said that among the target customers were farmers who wanted to learn the techniques currently applied to orchards and farming in southern Thailand.
Raktasinha said that the TAT office in HCMC would promote the culture and the attractions of Thailand among Vietnamese people, particularly the young.
The recent Thailand Cultural Day at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities was a typical example. The TAT office, in collaboration with the Royal Thai consulate general and the university, put on the event to introduce the Songkran Festival, Thai culture and Thai food to students.
Raktasinha explained that the Songkran Festival from April 13 to 15 was the Thai New Year and people drench each other with water. This occasion is also a time for Thai people to visit family and friends.
Because of promotions and new products, Raktasinha said TAT expected a large number of Vietnamese people would continue to travel to Thailand in 2009, a tough year for the global tourism industry when demand has fallen sharply.
Last year, Thailand attracted around 330,000 Vietnamese travelers, up 80,000 over 2007. This was a significant increase in a year when Thailand had to deal with political unrest that affected the country’s tourism industry. “We are happy that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Thailand keeps growing,” Raktasinha said.
Raktasinha said in the current difficult year, TAT targeted short-haul markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.
“Vietnam is our emerging tourism market given the remarkable increase in the number of travelers over the past years. We are optimistic about this market,” Raktasinha said.
Raktasinha said more Thai people were interested in traveling in Vietnam as this country had emerged as a new destination for them. He said 180,000 Thai people visited Vietnam last year, 20,000 more than the year before.