‘New Shades’ of Thailand
WHEN one thinks of Thailand, street food, markets and elephants instantly come to mind. But for Thais, there is more to their kingdom than what the world knows with a richly layered culture that highlights a truly colorful nation.
As such, the government realized that the time has come for Thailand to launch a new tourist campaign to better capture the essence of the country beyond its former tagline as the “Land of Smiles.”
Fittingly, they coined “Open to the New Shades,” which saw its Philippine launch over last weekend’s 2019 Travel Tour Expo.
With Filipinos considered to be one of Thailand’s biggest markets, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Philippines, Vasin Ruangprateepsaeng enthused, “Whatever time you choose to visit Thailand, we guarantee that there are festivals and events for you to enjoy.”
“Wherever you go to in Thailand, you will always personally experience our long history, beautiful traditions, and colorful celebrations,” he continued.
Open to the New Shades
“Thailand is already quite familiar for the Filipinos so this year, we are going to show new offerings that they don’t know about yet,” said Kajorndet Apichartrakul, the director for Singapore and the Philippines of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
According to Apichartrakul, the most popular destinations and activities for Filipinos are: shopping at the markets, watching shows at the Siam Niramit Theater, having dinner cruise, and visiting Pattaya which is near the beach.
Further explaining their new campaign, he added, “Thailand is a country of million shades — nature, culture, food, people, and so much more.”
Thailand is also aiming to strengthen its relationship with the LGBT community; they are the Land of Smiles after all. “When you go visit Thailand, you can feel safe and you don’t feel discriminated. It’s what Thailand offers that is different from other areas.”
New travel ambassador
Part of the campaign is the launch of their new travel ambassador, Robi Domingo. The TV host and avid traveler first visited the capital Bangkok with his family in 2011. With his brother being a chef, the Domingo family immersed in numerous Thai specialties like padThai,
kaopad, sticky rice with mango, and his personal favorite, tomyamgung .
Not long after, Domingo went back to the beautiful country for work in 2013, this time visiting Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai to educate the Filipino audience on “Matanglawin.”
“It was a different experience for me because I got to train elephants, go to a river and the White Temple. They even gave me coffee,” Domingo recalled, still so appreciative of the kind gesture.
“I’ve been there twice and I still want to go back because I’m not yet done,” he shared. “I think whenever you go to a place, you’re never fully satisfied because there are countless things that you want to explore and learn more about.”
For first-time Thailand visitors, Domingo had some advice to share. “Bring lots of
sando, shirts, and comfortable clothing since the weather is similar to Manila.
“Trust me, you’ll be walking a lot from morning to night because there are lots of places to discover. Bring lots of loose change because you would want to go around and easily try different kinds of food or activities. The best places for me are the unknown ones,” he ended.