(Dubai, 5 January 2015) - The
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Dubai and Middle East office in
cooperation with Royal Thai Embassy Tehran and Mahan Air, will hold a
familiarization trip for 26 travel agents from Tehran and four social
media influencers based in Iran from January 4-12, 2016. The group will be divided into two groups: Group 1 will have a pre-tour in Pattaya from 4-9 January, while Group 2 will have a post tour in Pattaya from 6-12 January. On January 8,
TAT will organize a special table top session wherein Iran agents will
have a chance to meet more than 50 Thai private companies from hotels,
recreation and theme parks to travel agencies. The event will be held at
Landmark Ballroom, The Landmark Bangkok and will be attended by TAT
Deputy Governor Juthaporn Rerngronasa.
Mr. Chalermsak Suranant, Director, TAT Dubai and Middle East said, “Iran
market is one of the most dynamic market in our region. Iranian tourist
in Thailand shows an incredible development over the last year. Based
on recent survey conducted, Thailand still leads on top ten for Iranian
outbound travellers in terms of facilities such as hotel accommodations,
theme & leisure parks, dining, shopping and general entertainment -
a clear manifestation that Thailand is still on the top of travel list
of Iranians”
Additionally,
TAT aims to focus on promoting Thailand as a Muslim friendly destination
to Iran market with highlights on luxury, family and couples
activities. From January – November 2015, the number of tourist
arrivals from Iran reached 81,404, a dramatic increase of almost 30%
from the same period last year.
Recently, The
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has rolled out a number of strategic
activities to promote the good image of the Thailand as a top tourist
destination at one of the most important travel trade events in Europe,
the World Travel Market (WTM). During the event, TAT launched the new
Amazing Thailand logo, which incorporates the attraction and appeal of
the most famous characteristic of Thailand – The Smile.
Mr. Suranant commented: “One
of Thailand’s most important events this year at WTM was the launch of
the new “Amazing Thailand” logo, which features the famous Thai Smile.
Thailand is also known as the Land of Smiles, and the new logo builds on
that in order to strengthen the bonds of friendship, fun and
happiness.” The letter ‘A’ in the word ‘Thailand’ has been re-designed
to look like a pair of smiling eyes, which, when accompanied with the
‘Smile’ symbol, perfectly form a person’s smiling face. The colour
schemes have also been specifically chosen to underpin the image of
softness.”
Thailand remains
a popular destination to many Arab travelers as it is named as one of
the Top 10 Muslim friendly tourism destination in the world by Global
Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2015. The recent hosting of first
ever Thailand Halal Assembly in Bangkok further strengthen Thailand’s
position to cater to Muslim travelers by providing Arabic speaking
staffs, halal food options, prayer facilities in the airport and
Muslim-friendly hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions throughout
the country.
Mr. Suranant said, Middle
Eastern market including Iran has remained an important source market
for us with an increase in total number of arrival by 33.74% during
first quarter 2015. The Discover Thainess Campaign 2015 with highlights
on Muslim-Friendly tours and activities is an attempt to attract first
time and repeat visitors to explore Thailand’s new destinations
including Thailand’s 12 hidden gems cities namely: Lampang, Phetchabun,
Nan, Buriram, Loei, Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi, Trat, Chanthaburi,
Trang, Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat, and to discover Thainess; Thai
way of life through people and culture.”
Accessibility to
Thailand continues to grow from Middle East region with Qatar Airways
boosted flights to Bangkok to four times a day as of December 2014 and
Etihad Airways recently added a fourth daily service from Abu Dhabi to
Bangkok from 1st July 2015 as well.
We have seen
a huge amount of tourists coming to Thailand every March during Iranian
New Year or ‘Norooz’ and continuously increasing year after year.” Mr. Suranant added