Touching 1mn Indian arrivals
Being one the most popular destinations among Indians, Thailand is now targetting the niche travellers from India and introducing newer destinations in the Indian market.
DENCY MATHEW Thailand
received 9.1 lakh Indians in 2011 making it the most visited destination by Indians in 2011. With just one month left to go in 2012, Thailand hopes to receive 1 million Indians this year. In the last few months, all flights going to Thailand have been overbooked by at least 30 passengers. The country has been witnessing a 6 per cent increase every month from India in 2012 as compared to 2011. One of the main reasons for this positive growth is its close proximity to India, several flight connections and relatively cheaper hotel room rates as compared to Singapore, Malaysia or even at times to India.
Sethaphan Buddhani, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, says “India is a very important market for us. A lot of Indians prefer to visit Thailand at least once in their lifetime. In fact, 60 per cent of Indian arrivals are repeat travellers and we are very happy about that.”
To attract more repeat travellers, Buddhani said that newer destinations like Khao Yai are being introduced in the Indian market and will be aggressively promoted in India for the next three years. “A first time Indian will always do a Bangkok-Pattaya. In their second visit, they explore the more niche destinations like Koh Samui, Krabi and Phuket. We are introducing Khao Yai as an alternative to Pattaya in the Indian market for families to visit as it is only 250 km from Bangkok.”
In 2013, Buddhani added that they are planning on expanding their promotions to Tier-II cities like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune which they now want to tap. “Tier-I cities are well-educated about Thailand through movies, promotions etc.