TAT, airlines work to lure Middle East

Major airlines in the Middle East are ready to offer attractive deals to draw more tourists to Thailand from October this year after signing agreements with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

The TAT is teaming up with United Arab Emirates carriers Etihad, Emirates and Fly Dubai, and Qatar Airways to boost the arrival numbers from the Middle East by 13-15% this year, up from 585,633 last year, which had 10% growth.

TAT began working with Qatar in 2015 as part of its global partnership to increase international tourists. The agency also sealed an agreement with Taiwan’s EVA Air, and Singapore Airlines, and is talking with carriers in Japan and South Korea in efforts to strengthen inbound tourism.

Tanes Petsuwan, deputy governor for international marketing for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, last week met executives from Emirates and Etihad, asking them to add Thailand in their marketing plans.

He said Emirates would focus on highend female travellers. Starting from this October, six social influencers and celebrities in Thailand and the Middle East will be invited to join this campaign.

In the same month, Etihad will launch a gastronomy campaign as part of its Taste of the World advertisement. The airline plans to invite 30-40 travel bloggers to visit Thailand.

Mr Tanes is scheduled to return to the Middle East in September to meet with Fly Dubai and Qatar Airways. Qatar is set to promote Krabi and beaches in Phuket to clients in the Middle East after launching direct flights to Krabi a few months ago.

The airline also plans to operate direct flights to Chiang Mai to promote Lanna culture and its natural sites.

Fly Dubai, a sister budget airline of Emirates, will encourage more young travellers to visit Thailand to enjoy the street food, boutique hotels, and attractions in secondary destinations.

“The Middle East contributes a lot of upper-class tourists, with average spending in Thailand of 7,000 baht per person per day,” Mr Tanes said.