New Thai cities for India
Charun Ohnmee, Deputy Governor for Policy and Planning, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), is working with Indian agents on packages for new cities.
We hope that the Thai government will extend the visa fee waiver for Indian nationals, up to April 2020
During its annual ‘Amazing Thailand Roadshow to India’ organised in Delhi, Ohnmee said that Thailand is already a very popular holiday and wedding destination for people from North India. He informed that the South Asian nation welcomed around 9,78,751 Indian tourists between January and June
2019, which is an increase of 24 per cent as compared to the same period in 2018. There has also been an increase of 27 per cent in spending by Indian travellers during this period. He with support from Indian travel trade, the tourism authority is hopeful of reaching its target of two million Indian tourists to Thailand by the end of 2019. He added, “TAT in New Delhi is working with tour operators to work out itineraries for new destinations. We want to do the product testing with agents and then maybe we can launch new packages for agents to sell." On being asked about targeting new cities in India to popularise Thailand as a holiday destination, Ohnmee said, “We are looking at enhancing our presence in Tier-II and III markets that have huge potential to provide good numbers. We are also looking to encourage aging Indian travellers to visit Thailand in the off season.” He also informed that over 400 weddings took place in Thailand in 2018, mainly fee waiver. Ohnmee added, “We, as TAT, hope that the Thai government will extend the visa fee waiver for Indian nationals, up to April 2020.” The scheme is presently valid till October 2019.