Aor Sor Social campaign angles to hike village visits
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched a domestic tourism campaign called Aor Sor Social, marshalling an online group of volunteers to help promote village tourism.
There are 14 communities taking part in the project, and the agency hopes the campaign will help increase tourism income to these communities by at least 20% this year.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the campaign will inspire millennial travellers to experience “onenight stays with locals”.
The 14 communities are Pha Mee community, Ban Tha Khan Thong community and Pang Ha home stay in Chiang Rai; Sila Petch community in Nan; Ban Pa Miang community in Lampang; Laem Phak Bia community in Phetchaburi; Ban Laem Klad community in Trat; Khiri Wong Kot community in Udon Thani; Phrom Lok community in Nakhon Sri Thammarat; Ban Sam Chong Neuh in Phangnga; Pa Tew (Bang Son) tourist community in Chumphon; Boh Hin farm stay community in Trang; Ta Mod community in Phatthalung; and Baan Chulaporn Patthana community in Yala.
Apart from greater income, the TAT also expects the campaign to help people learn new social media skills to promote their villages around the world, all of which would be a sign of real sustainable success.
Mr Yuthasak said Thai millennial travelers represent one of the most important markets for the travel and tourism business.
The TAT created the campaign to entice younger people to visit local communities. Surveys suggest that Thai millennials priori ti se fun activities, beautiful scenery, local food and unique accommodation options when traveling.
The stats reveal that Thai millennials tend to regard existing information about local tourism on social media platforms as not particularly inspiring in most cases.
So the TAT is offering selected villages in the Aor Sor Social campaign for them, the authority said.
The agency has also recruited an online community of travel lovers to join the campaign.
The mission of Aor Sor Social is to help promote each village by creating digital travel content, such as videos clips, photos and reviews, and then sharing the content on social media platforms.
The overall aim is to inspire millennial travellers to experience the unique offerings in each village, the TAT said.