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Community-Based Tourism: Empowering Local Champions for Sustainable Tourism in Thailand

November 6, 2022.

Pattamon Rungchavalnont

Head of Solutions Mapping, Accelerator Lab, Thailand

Thailand is among the world's top tourist destinations. The country’s diverse geographical settings and rich cultural capital provide a vast variety of tourism experiences from relaxing by beautiful sandy beaches of the South to exploring lush green forests of the mountainous North and enjoying local cultures in the Northeast. In 2019, Thailand welcomed a record high of 40 million visitors. For this reason, tourism is a major driver of Thailand’s economic development, providing around 20% of the national GDP and employing over 4.2 million people (11% of total employment). However, Thailand’s tourism industry is not without negative side effects. Unsustainable management of tourism has proven to cause environmental degradation and biodiversity loss as well as fuel uneven economic development. Oftentimes, economic benefits from tourism fall into the hands of large tour operators and investors from the outside while local communities gain minimum economic benefit and are left to suffer many social and environmental drawbacks.  

While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major setback to the tourism industry, it also provides an opportunity for Thailand to rethink its tourism. Sustainable and resilient tourism has become a key theme for the country and is now one of UNDP Thailand’s focus areas. UNDP Accelerator Lab Thailand seized this opportunity to embark on a journey to support the growing momentum for sustainable tourism by contributing innovative approaches to the redefinition of the country’s tourism industry, specifically from the angle of community-based tourism.

Why community-based tourism?

Emerged in Thailand in the 1990s, ‘community-based tourism (CBT)’ proposes the idea of ‘tourism by the local people for the local people’ . It is one of the solutions for sustainable tourism because, under this framework, local people are the key decision-makers of their tourism development and the ones to fully benefit from it. Being long-term residents of the areas, local communities are more incentivised to balance economic growth and socio-cultural and environmental impacts caused by tourism activities. At the end of the day, it is their home. However, it is crucial to clear the misconception that CBT refers to ‘village tourism,’ limited only to certain styles of tourism that take place in rural areas. CBT is a tourism management model that puts local communities at the center of the process and can encompass diverse tourism styles from rural tourism to urban tourism, nature tourism, or even luxury tourism. Essentially, CBT is about community empowerment as it is a process in which local people are empowered to uplift their own livelihood.

The pandemic has posed both challenges and opportunities for CBT. International travel restrictions caused a major drop in foreign visitors which used to make up a significant portion of visitors for CBT. Local communities needed to adjust themselves to the domestic tourism market and diversify their offers e.g. community products beyond tourism activities. On the other hand, the pandemic has shaped new tourist behaviours- traveling in smaller groups, choosing less crowded destinations, escaping to nature, and searching for unique experiences and activities for well-being, among others. Many of these new preferences match very well with what CBT can offer and can potentially pave way for a golden age of CBT. Moreover, pandemic-induced lockdowns in major cities led to a reverse in rural-urban migration. Many people working in the cities returned to their hometowns during the lockdown and some sought to find livelihood options at home. CBT provides an alternative and in turn benefits from increased human resources- the skilled workforce who have gained skills and exposure from their time working in the cities. All in all, it is an important time for CBT to take the next step to ensure its thrivability in this rapidly changing world.

Making sense of CBT and contemplating on the way forward

            As a starting point, national-level workshops were co-organized by UNDP Accelerator Lab Thailand, Thailand Policy Lab, the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) , and Local Alike (one of Thailand’s leading social enterprises working on CBT). Representatives from local communities, relevant governmental agencies, the private sector, civil society organizations, and academia exchanged views on trends and weak signals affecting CBT as well as discussed the desirable future and way forward. A few interesting points from the exercise include:

• CBT can go beyond leisure tourism and provide learning experiences for visitors, for example community-based environmental conservation and waste management and tap into opportunities from the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model of the government.
• Communities need to build the next generation of CBT leaders. Involvement and incentives for the new generation are key for successful engagement and transition.
• Planning and decision-making should be a bottom-up and collaborative process between the government and local communities to avoid projects which do not fit local contexts or serve the real needs of stakeholders. For instance, many tourism applications were created but abandoned.
• Multisectoral support is crucial for CBT development e.g. support from the private sector on digital transformation, academia on CBT-related curriculum for young leaders, etc.
• Funding mechanisms must be further developed e.g. shifting from an informal arrangement to a social enterprise, setting up CBT development funds, etc.

While the discussion revealed multiple areas for development, capacity building for local communities stood out as one of the prerequisites for success. Since local communities are the main drivers of CBT, they must be equipped with frameworks and tools that will enable them to flourish in the rapidly changing world. Existing capacity-building initiatives have been fairly successful in supporting local communities to begin their CBT journey, often focusing on building the foundation and taking a short/medium-term view. While such emphasis is essential, it might not be sufficient any longer. Especially once local communities manage to set up the basics of their CBT, they also need to start thinking about sustainability and being anticipatory. As a result, the Lab identified this as our area of work: how local communities can make their CBT become more sustainable.

Learnings with the locals

            UNDP Accelerator Lab Thailand in collaboration with Local Alike joined hands with two pilot communities to start our learning journey. Social innovation tools were applied to invite local stakeholders to reflect on the becoming of their CBT and look forward through the lens of sustainability. Given the different nature of each community, the discussions and sustainability initiatives took on different directions. However, one commonality revealed itself. Community is never homogeneous; CBT development is an area of convergence for different groups to interact and build momentum toward sustainability. To elaborate, let’s take a closer look at each of the pilot communities…

Chulabhorn Pattana 9 community: A case of nature-based tourism from the South

As a neighbour of the world-famous Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Chulabhorn Pattana 9 community of Yala province in Southern Thailand has attracted many nature lovers; some visited the village just to enjoy the serenity and beauty of the natural environment while others were excited by the rich biodiversity of the Hala-Bala Forest, not to mention the village’s charming cultural heritage from their Community Malaya time. The village is familiar with receiving visitors as they have been welcoming relatives and friends from Malaysia and Singapore (legacy of Community Malaya time) for decades. Eight years ago, the concept of CBT was introduced, and the new generation stepped up to lead CBT management. The intergenerational difference is reflected in the different views on tourism management- one hoping to increase the number of visitors while another seeking to keep the delicate balance. The new generation realizes that their main target group is nature lovers. Thus, nature is the main capital for their CBT and its conservation is of paramount importance. Hence, the discussion about limiting the number of visitors with consideration of the area’s carrying capacity was very well received by the CBT management team.

CBT at Chulabhorn Pattana 9 does not only aim to mitigate the negative effects of tourism activities but also inspires positive changes in the local community. In many cases, tourism may have resulted in waste management problems. On the contrary, for Chulabhorn Pattana 9 community, the visitors are the ones demanding that waste in the village needs to be better managed. Hearing these comments, the CBT management team was eager to start a waste management initiative with support from the Lab and Local Alike. Waste separation and organic compost-making have been pioneered by the CBT group and will be shared with fellow villagers to inspire more people to join the effort.

In addition, the CBT management team sought to further develop tourism activities that highlight the value of biodiversity and incentivize conservation. Birdwatching was identified as a viable option. Interestingly, apart from our support, birdwatching was born out of collaboration with a visitor who happens to be a bird expert, an ex-member of the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand. Feeling that Chulabhorn Pattana 9 is more than a touristic destination to him, this bird expert saw the potential and was more than willing to help provide training on birdwatching to local guides. Chulabhorn Pattana 9 is able to shift from selling their services to ‘tourists’ to building relationships with ‘visitors’, some of whom have become ‘friends’ to co-create a sustainable future for their CBT.

Nong San community: Local life and craft in the Northeast

Nong San community of Sakon Nakhon province in the Northeast of Thailand is famous for its indigo dye handicrafts. Traditional knowledge on indigo dye has been passed on from generation to generation at Nong San village. When combined with the skills of a new generation artist, Pornpimon Mingmitmee, this cultural capital becomes the starting point of Nong San CBT. Visitors, both craft lovers and chillax tourists, enjoy the simple slow life and recharge themselves with natural dye crafts, organic agriculture, and the beauty in the local lifestyle. However, the early days of Nong San CBT were not all easy. The community did not believe that CBT was viable at first, so Pornpimon had to start small and gradually showed other people the success to inspire more support from within the village and nearby community. Furthermore, with the COVID-19-induced lockdown, villagers who used to work in other cities returned to the village and joined force to expand Nong San CBT. However, unlike Chulabhorn Pattana 9 case, Nong San CBT opts for a more decentralized model where each member acts as an independent micro-entrepreneur and loosely connects to provide tour packages for visitors. Therefore, the work here was about business incubation for female micro-entrepreneurs to enhance the distribution of benefits from CBT among the local people. Entrepreneurial skills, including digital marketing, were provided to interested locals.

Circularity is another theme as Pornpimon has been trying to manage waste materials from textile crafts production e.g. left-over threads and fabric scraps. Drawing inspiration from India, the initial idea was to turn textile waste into paper. Local knowledge in Thailand provides a technique for turning natural fibers into handmade paper. Yet, from the prototyping phase, cotton textile waste has proven to be more difficult to handle than other fibers. An alternative was presented as Pornpimon connected with a company working on recycled textiles. The idea is to compile textile waste from the local community, turn it into recycled fabrics, and send it back to the community as raw materials for new products. At the time of writing, the discussion is still ongoing to develop a suitable model of collaboration. This case demonstrates the power of cross-sectoral collaboration in driving CBT toward sustainability.

Sharing our experiences

    Through the working process with our partners, UNDP Accelerator Lab Thailand was able to learn about CBT development as well as share our social innovation tools with key change agents like Local Alike and relevant governmental agencies. Realizing the value of these tools in facilitating processes towards sustainability and resilience, the Lab together with Local Alike co-produced the Community-Based Tourism Social Innovation Playbook to share with others the experience of Thailand. The Playbook emphasized that social innovation process is not linear. While the tools are categorized into three groups (making sense of the past and present; looking forward to the future; and taking actions), users can always jump back and forth between each category of tools to fill the gaps of knowledge as they surface. Case studies from our work with Chulabhorn Pattana 9 and Nong San communities demonstrate this non-linear journey as well as the fact that no two communities are alike; thus, the social innovation tools must be ultilized in consideration of specific local contexts.

In addition to the publication, the Accelerator Lab Thailand will be working with the Accelerator Lab Bangladesh on CBT development in their context. Follow our next blog to see how Thailand’s experiences can be adapted and what lessons we will learn on the journey to transform tourism into a vehicle for sustainable development.

Reimagining travel: Thailand tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic

Thailand’s economy is reliant on international tourism, a once-flourishing sector that has been impacted by pandemic restrictions. But there have been continual government efforts to boost domestic travel, and measures to support returning international demand after Thailand began reopening to vaccinated international travelers from 63 countries on November 1, 2021. 1 Pasika Khernamnuoy and Katie Silver, “Thailand reopens to vaccinated tourists from over 60 nations,” BBC, November 1 2021, bbc.com. Even as the world addresses emerging variants of the virus, Thailand’s lessons can act as a guide for other tourism-dependent countries facing similar dilemmas as they prepare for the resurgence of international travel.

A heavy blow, adjustments needed to support recovery

In 2019, Thailand ranked eighth globally in international tourist arrivals, with China being a key source market. 2 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Thailand recorded a high of 40 million visitors in 2019, with the top three spending categories for inbound visitors that year being in accommodation (28 percent), shopping (24 percent of spending), and food and beverages (21 percent). 3 “Summary of tourism income and expenses from foreign tourists entering Thailand in 2019,” Ministry of Tourism & Sports, October 28, 2020, mots.go.th. Furthermore, the Thai tourism sector created 36 million jobs between 2014 and 2019. 4 “Dashboard SME big data,” Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, accessed October 2021, sme.go.th.

Unfortunately, the pandemic and related restrictions have hit travel particularly hard, as international travel plunged. Passengers on international flights to Thailand dropped by 95 percent in September 2021, compared to the previous year. Hotels, in turn, only filled 9 percent of their rooms (Exhibit 1).

This decline in visitors had an outsize impact on tourism spending, as international travelers spent significantly more than their local counterparts (Exhibit 2). For instance, in 2019, international travelers made up 33 percent of overall travelers in Thailand yet accounted for almost 60 percent of all tourism spending—international tourists spent $1,543 per traveler on average, compared to $152 by domestic travelers. 5 “Tourism statistics 2019,” Ministry of Tourism & Sports, accessed October 2021, mots.go.th. This drop in expenditure undoubtedly caused a ripple effect on Thailand’s food and beverage retail industries, which include 1.2 million small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). 6 “How to start business,” Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, accessed October 2021, sme.go.th.

Recovery appears to be on the horizon for Thailand. Assuming virus recurrence, slow long-term growth, muted world recovery, and minimal changes to global tourism strategies, Thailand’s tourism sector could only recover to pre-crisis levels by 2024.

Given that Thailand’s GDP relies significantly on foreign tourism income, the domestic tourism market alone is not sufficient to bring the nation’s tourism revenue back to 2019 figures; the sector’s recovery would depend on a resurgence in international travel (Exhibit 3). Globally, this recovery scenario would likely reshape the landscape of the world’s travel industry and create a strong imperative for both the public and private sectors to act to ensure the industry’s survival.

Efforts to stimulate tourism

Thailand has deployed various efforts to compensate for the loss of inbound tourism. Given that for most of the first quarter of 2020, Thailand saw less than 1,000 daily COVID-19 cases nationwide, with cases not rising above 4,000 until November 2020, domestic tourism was still a viable option for travelers. The Thai government’s attempt to boost domestic travel took the form of providing subsidies for hotel stays and flights for travelers. The government also rolled out measures to stimulate international travel to Thailand’s beach destinations and attract high-end travelers from international markets.

Travel together—stimulating domestic tourism

In August 2020, the Thai government launched the Rao Tiew Duay Gun (We Travel Together) program, where it set aside a budget of $640 million to help boost domestic tourism. 7 “Thailand approves domestic tourism package worth 22.4 billion baht,” Tourism Authority of Thailand Newsroom, June 17, 2020, tatnews.org.

The government subsidized a total of six million nights of hotel accommodation at 40 percent of normal room rates. The subsidy was capped at 3,000 baht ($100) per night for up to five nights. Subsidies for other services, including food, were capped at 600 baht ($20) per room per night. This subsidy was initially limited to facilities outside tourists’ home provinces, but that restriction was lifted in the second phase of the rollout in December 2020. In addition, domestic tourists traveling by air would qualify for a government refund of 40 percent of the ticket price. This was capped at 1,000 baht ($32) per seat, with a quota of 2 million seats.

The program reached its total quota of six million hotel-room nights in February 2021, seven months after its launch. 8 “FPO reveals the money we travel together, 20,000 million,” Bangkok Business News , January 4, 2021, bangkokbiznews.com; “‘We travel together’ the parade has already reserved 6 million rights. But there are still 1.35 million rights left!” Bangkok Business News , February 8, 2021, bangkokbiznews.com. During that time, at least $1 billion had been added to the Thai economy. 9 “NESDB-TAT has not yet knocked on ‘we travel together, phase 3,’” Thai PBS News , March 16, 2021, news.thaipbs.or.th.

Many operators grasped this opportunity, shifted their focus to the domestic market, and attracted local travelers by promoting flights and hotels in collaboration with the We Travel Together campaign. Destinations that once served mainly international visitors welcomed more local travelers, which has helped their economies wade through this difficult period. Many luxury hotels offered deep discounts and attractive promotions to capture the medium- to high-spend domestic-tourist segment.

These efforts to stimulate domestic travel were temporarily paused as COVID-19 cases reached a new high in July 2021. Domestic air travel in and out of red zones, including Bangkok, was banned during July to September 2021 in response to the nation’s effort to control the spread of the Delta variant. 10 “Domestic flight bans in force,” Bangkok Post , July 21, 2021, bangkokpost.com. Phase three of the We Travel Together campaign was paused during the same period, but resumed in October 2021.

Bringing back international travelers with the ‘sandbox’ approach

Despite promotional efforts for domestic travel, Thailand’s total revenue from domestic travel still saw a significant dip. The country’s revenue from domestic travel dropped from $34.5 billion to $15.4 billion in 2020. An increase in domestic spending alone would not compensate for the impact of the pandemic on the Thai economy. The country has largely been dependent on international markets, which represented about $62 billion or 60 percent of total tourism spend in 2019. 11 “Tourism statistics 2019,” Ministry of Tourism & Sports, accessed October 2021, mots.go.th.

In response, Thailand launched the “Phuket Sandbox” in July 2021, an effort to recapture demand from international travelers. The initiative offered fully vaccinated travelers (between 14 days and one year before their travel date) exemption from quarantine, provided they remain in Phuket for at least 14 days before traveling to other parts of Thailand. 12 “General information—Phuket Sandbox,” Tourism Authority of Thailand Newsroom, October 1, 2021, tatnews.org. Additionally, travelers’ stay in Phuket was restricted to accommodation establishments that have been certified by the Safety & Health Administration of the Thai government. Visitors staying in Phuket for less than 14 days were permitted to leave Phuket only if their destination was outside of Thailand.

The model hoped to draw visitors during the year-end season in Asia, Europe, and America—all key origin markets for Thailand. Several other reopening plans followed, including the “Samui Plus” and “Andaman Sandbox” plans. 13 “Samui Plus plan to generate B180m,” Bangkok Post , July 18, 2021, bangkokpost.com; “‘Adaman Sandbox’ next on govt agenda,” Bangkok Post , July 21, 2021, bangkokpost.com. Together, the schemes created a network of reopened destinations, which hoped to position Thailand as an attractive destination for international and domestic travelers alike.

The economic uplift from the Phuket Sandbox were moderate. In the period from July 1 to August 31, Phuket welcomed about 26,400 visitors, who were estimated to have spent at least $48.8 million while staying on the resort island (Exhibit 4). 14 “Phuket Sandbox generates B1,634m in two months,” Bangkok Post , September 5, 2021, bangkokpost.com.

A nationwide rise in COVID-19 infection rates in the same period meant that the government had to reconsider social distancing and other measures to minimize risk to visitors.

In any case, Thailand has gathered its learnings from the “sandbox” approach and proceeded to reopen the country to receive international travelers. As of November 1, 2021, the Thai government commenced a phased reopening of the country, allowing fully vaccinated tourists from 63 low-risk countries to visit with one day of quarantine, provided they pass a COVID-19 test upon arrival. The government has also replaced the slow-paced Certificate of Entry (COE) system with the Thailand Pass System, in an effort to make the documentation process of travelers entering Thailand more efficient than the COE application. 15 “Thailand pass,” ThaiEmbassy.com, accessed on November 1, 2021, thaiembassy.com.

The program also expanded the number of provinces open to international visitors to 17, including major tourism destinations such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Subject to readiness, additional major provinces are expected to reopen from December 2021 onwards. To ensure visitor safety, some COVID-19 measures remain in place, although most businesses have been allowed to reopen and nighttime curfews have been lifted in almost every province. The reopening has welcomed tourists globally, with top visitors coming from Thailand’s key source markets—the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom (Exhibit 5).

Attracting ‘quality’ travelers, with an eye on new markets

Pre-COVID-19, China was one of the main contributors to Thailand’s tourism income, accounting for more than 27 percent of 2019 tourism receipts. 16 “Tourism statistics 2019,” Ministry of Tourism & Sports, accessed October 2021, mots.go.th. Given the current prudent approach of the Chinese government toward international travel, the road of return for Chinese visitors to Thailand will be a long one. China’s international-flight seat capacity and passenger numbers remain down by 95 percent  compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, and stringent public-health measures for international travel remain in place. Thailand, therefore, needs to reimagine its strategy and try to capture new sources of international travelers in markets where there are more rapid recoveries of international travel demand.

The situation may change rapidly, particularly in these volatile times; closely monitoring the revival of these top source markets, particularly around the country’s stance towards viral control measures, will help industry players plan their recovery efforts and capture untapped value.

Recognizing these shifting traveler trends, and the resilient nature of premium traveler groups, the Thai government is striving to attract “quality” travelers from these source countries. Measures include revisiting and relaxing certain regulations—such as yachting regulations and taxes on personal belongings and luxury goods—to improve and stimulate the premium travel experience.

Taking this a step further, the Thai government is preparing to launch a long-term residence program to attract foreigners to the country through new Long-Term Resident (LTR) visas (up to ten years), tax and investment incentives, foreigners’ residential property ownership relaxations, and more. The program will target four key personas: the wealthy global citizen, the wealthy retiree, the work-from-Thailand professional, and the high-skilled professional. The country’s ambition is to welcome over one million of these target personas and generate over 1 trillion baht in domestic spending in the next five years, beginning in 2022.

Emerging from the storm: Actions for travel and tourism

Thailand has put innovative measures in place to help its vitally important travel and tourism sector wade through the COVID-19 crisis. As new variants of the coronavirus emerge, health and safety should remain the foremost priority as countries contemplate their travel programs. Once it is safe to do so, there are actions that stakeholders can take to steer into and thrive within the next normal.

Adjust offerings and pricing strategy to meet market needs. Hotels, tour operators, restaurants, and transport providers could look to explore opportunities to offer services and products that meet new travel demands.

Bundle products, such as hotel and flights, offer upselling and cross-selling opportunities as well as a diversified revenue stream.

Travel companies could also devise and deploy targeted pricing strategies to drive long-term loyalty and stickiness for when international travel fully returns. Given the phased reopening of popular provinces in Thailand, and the inclusion of more visitors from select countries on a quarantine-exemption list, travel companies can leverage data on traveler behaviors to set the right prices and conduct targeted campaigns by country of origin and destination.

Explore opportunities within the mass-affluent traveler segment. Focusing on premium travel experiences may be a viable strategy in some markets, but it may have limited impact in Thailand. Given that the top three inbound visitor-spending categories in 2019 were shopping, accommodations, and food, targeting the high-end market would only benefit a small segment of travel companies and would not contribute to the country’s economic recovery across all relevant sectors.

By promoting more differentiated travel experiences and attractions such as ecotourism and cultural tourism, which are naturally location based and sought after by younger mass-affluent travelers, operators could contribute to greater aviation and transportation use in Thailand.

Form partnerships across the travel ecosystem. As a result of the government’s We Travel Together program, which subsidizes travel through a digital redemption mechanism (the Pao Tang app), the country has seen an estimated 30 to 40 million users join and use the platform. 17 Krung Thai Bank equity research, April 2021. This has created an opportunity for domestic consumer data to be collected and analyzed to provide more personalized tourism offerings that consumers are more likely to consider spending on.

Taking this a step further, tour operators, restaurants, and shopping malls might link up, creating a connected ecosystem where a traveler could be strategically engaged through multiple personalized services, products, and loyalty programs along their journeys.

Expand the network of destinations. There is an opportunity to offer travelers a wider variety of destinations in first- and second-tier cities, such as Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chiang Rai, Nakhon Nayok, Ratchaburi, and Loei. These locations have been able to sustain visitor numbers at a relatively low rate of decline, largely due to domestic travelers looking for new places to visit during international travel restrictions.

With a boost in promotion and appropriate infrastructure investment, tourism will not only contribute to the survival of the industry in these cities, but it could also lead to enduring tourist appeal that extends beyond domestic traveler groups, especially with the gradual return of international visitors. For example, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is collaborating with airlines to offer direct flights to alternative second-tier tourism destinations.

Leverage digital to connect, attract, and retain travelers. Travel companies can digitalize the customer journey from check-in through payment, including the provision of maps and information. Traveler preferences can be tracked in real time to design better and more relevant offerings, while digital booking channels can target different customer segments. Digital marketing can also entice visitors to return and to share their experiences on social media.

For instance, the Tourism Council of Thailand is working with Singapore-based IsWhere to deploy a digital-marketing platform for tourism business operators to better connect and engage with a potentially sizeable number of domestic and international travelers; the platform’s prior partnership with a major tech company has enabled it to reach 600 million digital customers worldwide.

Reimagine support needed by industry players. In the short term, industry players would need stimulus, support, and guidance on health and safety policies from the government. In the medium term, small and medium-size players would benefit from the government’s support in adjusting to online travel services and digital marketing, such as a one-stop digital platform to connect industry players with international travelers.

As such, the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced its plan to establish a private digital firm to work on creating a digital infrastructure for tourism, utilize big data in the industry, and potentially introduce blockchain-based e-vouchers and nonfungible tokens to provide tourism operators with more options for reaching travelers online and offline.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism recovery in Thailand will be gradual and complex and requires varied strategies from both industry and government. As the world eagerly prepares for the eventual revival of international travel, Thailand and other countries can draw important lessons from its experience during this difficult interim period.

Steve Saxon is a partner in McKinsey’s Shenzhen office; Jan Sodprasert is a partner in the Bangkok office, where Voramon Sucharitakul is an associate partner.

The authors wish to thank Margaux Constantin , Kamila Dolinska, Steffen Köpke, Alan Laichareonsup, Jason Li, Georgie Songsantiphap, and Jackey Yu for their contributions to this article.

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Medical Tourism Destination: a Case Study of Thailand Tourism

Medical Tourism Destination:

A Case Study of Thailand tourism development strategy

Sarihan Ayae

International Relations Department

Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta

[email protected]

Advisor: Dr. Surwandono, M.Si.

In addition to the beauty of tourist attraction and culture .The tradition of attractiveness of Thailand as a tourist destination for travelers around the world .Nowadays, progress in science and modern medicine .Ancient medical wisdom and values of the people of

Thailand and from then and now .The country has become to the forefront in providing for their care and support services in the field of medicine. In the past few years, Thailand has gained a reputation as a high-quality low price and reliable medical tourism destination .In no small part, Thailand owes it to the hospitality of the Thai people .

Thailand has earned the eponym of the 'Land of Smiles' .The Thais treat their guests with the utmost respect and try to serve them the best way they can .On another hand, Thailand medical tourism has seen its popularity rise owing to the fact that it is home to many internationally accredited hospitals.

Keywords: Thailand medical tourism, Hospitals, high-quality, low price

Introduction

Medical tourists are people who cross international borders for the exclusive purpose of obtaining medical services. The medical tourism industry has been growing worldwide because of rising medical costs in the west, cross border medical training and widespread air travel. It involves about 50 countries in all continents and several Asian countries are clearly in the lead. In Asia, medical tourism is highest in India, Singapore and Thailand making up 90% of the medical tourism market share in Asia.

Medical tourists are motivated to seek healthcare outside their area of residence by many factors, including cost, time, regulation, medical preferences and availability, quality, leisure tourism and information availability. Hospitality and tourism companies, as well as local governments and destination marketers, are positioning themselves to capture share in the global medical tourism market. Thailand is the one of destinations of

Asia’s medical tourism market. Each year, over a million foreigners plan their medical travel around during Thailand for holiday, clubbing sight-seeing for medical treatments.

International tourists flock to Thailand for its unique Thai hospitality, exotic beaches, entertainment opportunities and medical treatments. In fact, the Thai medical tourism started since the 1970s. For example Thailand reported to have received about

2.53 million medical tourists, generating a revenue of between THB 121 to 140 billion in

Thai hub policy, is policy made by Thai government which will put Thai government as a facilitator for private hospitals in helping them to improve their medical services to foreign visitors seeking health care in Thailand. Apart from serving as the facilitator, the public sector would help boost the image of the country in terms of medical advances. The medical hub policy would encourage health establishments in Thailand to improve their health services to higher standards. This will enhance the competitiveness of Thailand as a country as well.

The policy was established in 2004 but has been given greater importance recently, under the condition that the international healthcare program should not affect the availability of good, affordable health care for Thai patients. The Ministry of Public

Health was assigned to work in an integrated manner with various relevant agencies in translating this policy into action. The main objective is to encourage health establishments in Thailand to raise the standards of their services at all levels. Another objective is to enhance the competitiveness of Thailand, as the country has several strengths in terms of experienced health personnel, modern facilities and equipment, hospitality, excellent services, and reasonable prices. For instance, hospitals throughout the country are ready to provide emergency services 24 hours a day. To date, many

1 Kee Mun Wong, (2014 .)Medical Tourism Destination SWOT Analysis :A Case Study of Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and India. School of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .p.3(Access on 25-7-16)

3 hospitals have been recognized and approved as meeting the standards set for the Hospital

Accreditation of Thailand and international standards, such as ISO. Thailand was the first country in Asia to achieve the Joint Commission International )JCI( Accreditation. Thai physicians are capable of providing care and services in every medical field. The majority received their medical education in Thailand and underwent further, clinical training at renowned international medical schools and institutes overseas. In many private-sector hospitals, foreign patients can be assisted by interpreters and coordinators whenever there is need for any such services. To ensure consumer protection, medical services are also regulated to mandate the highest ethical standards and quality of care.

In preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community, the Ministry of Public

Health is preparing to rearrange its medical service zones across the country in order to pool their resources to ensure optimum efficiency and reduce duplication of investment.

It is also creating more personnel to meet the expected growing demand for medical care.

The Bangkok Hospital Group, which is Thailand’s largest hospital operator with 13 network locations throughout the country, is expanding its medical tourism markets in

ASEAN, especially Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.2

2 Policy of Developing Thailand into a Medical Hub in the Region, Thai Trade Center Los Angeles)2013(,The Government Public Relations Department, Office of the Prime Minister http://www.thaitradeusa.com/home/?p=14559 )Access on 16-1-17(

A. Research question

Based on the background and the understanding of the background problem’s above, the research question is formulated as follows,

Why did Thailand government propose a medical hub policy?

Theoretical framework

1. Foreign policy

To analyze the problem, it then takes a theory. Mochter Mas'oed explains that the term of theory came from the Greek which means to see or to show. Here, theory can be simply understood as a view or perception of what has happened.

Decision-making theory

To more easily understand the interaction of factors that influence the foreign policy decision-making process, the researcher tries to describe it into an illustration of chart form as follows:

Domestic politics.

Economy-Military Decision Makers Foreign Policy condition

International context

Figme 1.1 Foreign Policy Decision-making Process, according to William

The chart describes that foreign policy of a state can be influenced by domestic conditions, particularly the domestic politics, the condition of domestic politics can be simply understood as a system of governance adopted by the concerned state.

Furthermore, the factor that influence foreign policy decision is the economic and military capacities. The long debate about which is more important between economic and military capabilities of a state makes both the influence factors in a foreign policy decision-making process. Finally, Coplin mention the international context as the third factor to be considered by the actors and decision-makers of foreign policy4.

The illustration can be explained based on the theory,

1. Domestic politics

Thailand medical tourism likes people want to have profession and income that makes Thai government support the project of Thailand medical hub because Medical

Services is a business that generates revenue for the other services business. It includes industries such as pharmaceutical business continuity, business equipment, medical tourism, hotels, restaurants etc. It also includes the creation of professions Income distribution and employment in various professions.

3 Ibid.,p22)Access on 30-7-16( 4 Ibid.,23)Access on 1-8-16(

2. Economic and military capabilities

Thailand long was characterized as the land of smiles: friendly people, warm

climate, and informal atmosphere all beckoned backpackers and businessmen alike.

However politics has become less hospitable in recent years. The junta inherited a lagging

economy, with policymakers hindered by years of political instability. Macroeconomic

indicators showed Thailand underperforming much of the region, though this year’s

estimated first-quarter growth of 3.2 percent was stronger than expected.

3. International context

ASEAN needs to work towards the goal of freer movement of labor and capital,

but in reality, integration and the free flow of resources will only be gradual, step by step,

sector by sector. Thailand can also benefit from economic integration by increasing

outbound investment. The market the region presents is huge but the flexibility of Thai

businesses is still limited. Small and medium-sized enterprises )SMEs( in Thailand haven’t

been exploring opportunities in the region as much as they should. They need to at least

broaden their perspective and be looking for allies, partners and connections in Asean so

they have more competitive advantage once integration happens.

Medical Tourism In Thailand

Thailand as an ideal Tourist Destination Thailand is one of the biggest tourist

destinations in the world and certainly the biggest in Asia. In 2005, 13.38 million international

7 guests visited Thailand,5 staying 8.1 days in average. According to the Tourist Authority of

Thailand, 65% of tourists come from the Asia Pacific region, Japanese and Malaysians among the leaders. Western tourists come from Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and the USA and increasing numbers arrive from the Middle East.

Medical Tourism is the practice of travelling across the borders to obtain healthcare services in another country where medical expenses are relatively lower and the services sought are equivalent to or better than those available in one’s own country. The Thai government began strategic plans since 2004 to promote Thailand as a prime medical tourism destination. Since then, the country has enjoyed a large number of visitors in this category.

Thailand is now widely acclaimed among the international community as the medical hub in Asia, with significant advantages including the availability of modern equipment and specialties, easy entrance, competitive prices, and great hospitality from service operators and personnel. These, when coupled with the well-established fact that Thailand is a superb tourist destination with serene beaches and mountains, intriguing arts and culture, food, entertainment, and shopping, make Thailand a great medical tourism destination.

Thailand is one of the best destinations in Asia for health-conscious tourists. The country has been one of the contemporary pioneers of Medical Tourism in Asia, with more than a million foreign patients annually coming to over 956 public and 309 private hospitals,

7 of which are JCI accredited and 17 of which are in the pipeline. The international patients will have access to the rich pool of over 19,000 medical doctors and 100,000 nurses6, many of which have undergone trainings in the United States, UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and other countries. It is also notable that Thailand has been the leader in holistic treatment

5 Medical tourism in Thailand, Thailand medical tourism cluster world class medical tourism,p.5)Access on 20-1-17( 6 ibid

approaches, including healthcare, illness prevention, treatments, rehabilitative and restorative

care. These approaches have gained greater attention in the western countries. Thailand has

convenient access, beautiful tourist destinations, and superior services.

The reasons of Thailand in proposing medical hub

Thailand’s strategic location makes it an investors’ gateway to Asia. It is at the

center of most ASEAN countries, including Myanmar on the west, Cambodia and Lao

PDR on the east, and Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore on the south. Being at the

crossroads of ASEAN and other dynamic markets in Asia such as China and India, allows

Thailand access to a burgeoning consumer population overseas aside from its equally

huge population of almost 68 million people.7

Thailand competitiveness on medical treatment

Healthcare in Thailand is largely driven by private hospitals. Thailand healthcare

has many advantages over its Asian neighbors when it comes to medical tourism.

Interestingly Thailand has the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia and also the first

hospital in Asia to get a JCI accreditation and ISO 9001 certification.

7 invest in ASEAN,)2012(, http://investasean.asean.org/index.php/page/view/asean-member- states/view/709/newsid/862/thailand.html

The advantages of medical treatment in Thailand, the patient will facilitated by following;

First-class quality at affordable prices

With over 1,000 publics and 400 private hospitals operating in compliance with international standards and fully-equipped with internationally trained physicians, Thai medical service provides excellent health care at highly competitive prices.8 Additionally, the prevalence of physicians with overseas training and the hospitals’ multilingual staff help bridge communication barriers.9

World Class and International Accredited Medical facilities

Many private hospitals in Thailand are Joint Commission International )JCI( accredited. On last count there were 46 of these )as of September 2015(. Many more are

ISO certified and are in the process of getting a JCI accreditation. Over 350 hospitals have a hospital accreditation from the Ministry of Public Health. All the latest technologies and facilities are available in the largest private hospitals.

Thailand has a pool of highly trained doctors many of whom have studied/practiced abroad. With this international experience they are able to offer the latest

8 Medical, Don’s Life In Thailand, http://donslifeinthailand.com/Medical.html 9 Tejasvi Vasudevan(2004),a case study to understand the factors that promote and facilitate medical tourism in Thailand with regard to services provided by hospitals This Independent Study Manuscript Presented to The Graduate School of Bangkok University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Business Administration, p58,)Access on 18-1-17(

10 and safest medical procedures. They will perform a wide range of surgeries like plastic surgeries, cardio thoracic surgeries, pediatric surgery, neurological surgery, dental implants, LASIK, etc. Nearly all of the doctors and most of the nurses speak English.

Translator services are also available should you require them.10

Healthcare System and Quality in Thailand

Thailand is a much sought after healthcare destination. More than a million healthcare tourists visit Thailand every year to avail healthcare services owing to its excellent medical and health care quality. Healthcare in Thailand is provided by government hospitals, private hospitals, non-governmental organizations and private practitioners.

A World Bank featured story titled, 'Thailand: Sustaining health Protection for All' says 99.5 % of the Thai people have access to healthcare under schemes promoted by the government. The budget allocation to healthcare is high and it is increasing steadily.

Citizens are covered under schemes such as the Universal Coverage Scheme, Civil

Servant Medical Benefit Scheme, Voluntary Healthcare Card Scheme, etc.

The Ministry of Public Health controls most of the hospitals in Thailand. There are more than a thousand government hospitals in the country. Government hospitals in

Thailand are of three types, there are regional hospitals in the provinces with at least 500 beds, general hospitals in major districts or province capitals with a capacity of 200 to

10 The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI):http://www.boi.go.th

500 beds, and community hospitals in the districts that can admit 10 to 30 patients. The community hospitals provide basic medical care and refer the more advanced cases to the general hospitals or the regional hospitals.

Hospitals and Doctors Standards in Thailand

Hospitals and medical facilities in Thailand pride themselves on their high standards, and many have subjected their premises and systems to the most rigorous classification by applying for international accreditation and certification. Thailand was the first country in Asia to achieve JCI accreditation in 2002, and 35 hospitals are now accredited

Many more healthcare providers are ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 certified. Though the ISO certification is not a hospital accreditation, these standards of general management and environmental management is a sign of quality assurance in healthcare that indicates the hospital’s commitment to deliver sustainable, high-quality facilities and services. Additionally, more than 350 Thai hospitals have acquired Hospital Accreditation

)HA(, awarded by the Ministry of Public Health. 11

Thailand have strategic position in connecting medical service in ASEAN

Thailand’s reputation for graceful and attentive service, it is not hard to see why

Bangkok has quickly become the medical tourism hub of Asia. Suvarnabhumi Airport is serviced by airlines from around the world, reasonably-priced hotel rooms abound, there

is reliable public transportation and 30-day visas for many nationalities are easy to get

upon arrival, all of which help to make a stay in a hotel or hospital easy. Forward thinking

in many of its approaches, that has also recently partnered with state-owned Krungthai

Bank, the national bank of Thailand , to offer tourists a debit card called the Miracle

Thailand Card, which offers some medical and life insurance coverage in case of an

At the airport Bangkok Hospital’s Airport Service Center gives information and

ground support services to inbound medical tourists. The hospital' lounge which has a

business-class setting is mostly for patients who arrive from the Middle East and there is

a 360 degree circle of support from the time a patient arrives till they leave.

One can find a variety of public transport options to choose from in Thailand,

ranging from the 3-wheeled rickshaws, known as tuk-tuks, to the modern sky train system

in Bangkok. Other popular options are the buses (BTS), subway, ferries and trains.

Particularly, the city bus system is a convenient option while in Thailand.

Flights can be used to travel both to and around Thailand. While the major cities

in the country have international airports, a number of domestic flights are also available

for travel between cities. Airport buses and metered taxis provide a convenient way to

get to these airports.12

Medical tourism in Thailand is a lucrative business, developed and promoted for

profit, which exemplifies an extreme form of commodification of medicine. In order to

12 Ivy Teh , Healthcare Tourism in Thailand: Pain ahead?, Biotechnology in Malaysia and Thailand,p1

13 attract medical tourists, healthcare establishments had to adapt their services to their needs and preferences; their efforts eventually leading to a lessening of the tension between tourism and hospitalization, and the emergence of a new concept for medical establishments epitomized by hotel-special.

Thailand has become well known as a hub for medical tourism, with some of the best private hospitals in Asia providing healthcare services to international patients.

Different reasons for patient’s choice of medical tourism destination. A medical tourism destination could be renowned for tourism, physicians and surgeons, quality of medical infrastructure, availability of accommodation or because of better, country conditions.

Some people look for accredited hospitals, some compare prices of surgery, whereas some take advice from family and friends who have travelled abroad, some listen to the testimonials of other patients, and some are helped by medical tourism providers like global medical tourism associations and medical tourism associations of various countries. Thailand is one of the most popular medical tourism destinations in the world.

Its healthcare professionals and facilities are known for excellent services in various disciplines such as plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedic surgery, cardiac surgery and dental care. Traditional Thai medicine is also renowned. Long known for sex-change procedures, Thailand offers some of the world's best values for a variety of health care.

Major procedures can be 50 to 70 percent cheaper in Thailand than in the U.S.

Thailand is a medical tourism destination of the availability of world class medical treatment at fraction of the cost of what one can get in Australia, Europe, US the Middle

East and some parts of Asia. It is not the only reason however as Thailand boasts of good

14 quality service, trained medical professionals, latest technology and equipment, and facilities that resembles five star hotels along with a chance to recuperate in scenic surroundings. Thailand has outstanding fundamental structure in the medical field and the human resources are recognized to be of international standard. Thai medical services are renowned worldwide, resulting in a rapid growth in related industries such as spa, Thai massage, Thai herbs, serviced apartments and health tourism. Thai medical services have recently acquired an international reputation, attracting a rapidly growing foreign clientele. Treatments in leading hospitals seem to be generally reliable and of a high quality. To attract foreign patients, leading hospitals not only had to raise their medical standards, hiring highly qualified doctors and investing in state-of-the-art medical equipment, they also had to make their establishments more friendly and attractive.

Bibliography

Kee Mun Wong, (2014 .)Medical Tourism Destination SWOT Analysis :A Case Study of Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and India. School of Business and

Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . p.3(Access on 25-7-16)

Policy of Developing Thailand into a Medical Hub in the Region, Thai Trade Center Los Angeles(2013),The Government Public Relations Department, Office of the Prime Minister http//:www.thaitradeusa.com/home/?p=14559( Access on 16-1-17)

Medical tourism in Thailand, Thailand medical tourism cluster world class medical tourism,p.5)Access on 20-1-17( invest in ASEAN,(2012), http//:investasean.asean.org/index.php/page/view/asean- member-states/view/709/newsid/862/thailand.html

Medical, Don’s Life In Thailand, http://donslifeinthailand.com/Medical.html

Tejasvi Vasudevan)2004(,a case study to understand the factors that promote and facilitate medical tourism in Thailand with regard to services provided by hospitals This Independent Study Manuscript Presented to The Graduate School of Bangkok University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Business Administration, p58,(Access on 18-1-17)

The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI):http://www.boi.go.th

Ivy Teh , Healthcare Tourism in Thailand: Pain ahead?, Biotechnology in Malaysia and Thailand,p1

Why medical tourism in thailand. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.mymedholiday.com/country/thailand/article/39/why-medical

tourismin- Thailand

Peramarajan Velasamy, (2014). ). Medical Tourism Destination SWOT Analysis: A Case

Study of Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and India. School of Business and

Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. p.1(Access on 25-7-16)

Sarihan Ayae was born in Yala Thailand on September 18, 1993.

In 2013, she started to study in International Program for

International Relations Department, Faculty of Social and Political

Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta and finished

(graduated) the study in July, 2016. SHe lives in Yala Thailand,

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N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected Thailand’s tourism industry as the country experienced a drastic fall in international arrivals from 2020 to mid-2022. Tourism activity has gradually recovered as travel restrictions have eased and international borders have reopened. The sustained growth in Thailand’s tourism services is due to the country’s impressive natural beaches, its islands, and its rich cultural heritage. To capture the next generation of tech-savvy visitors to Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has introduced virtual reality tours that provide visitors with an immersive, three-dimensional experience. Although virtual tours create many opportunities to enhance the tourism experience, their use as a part of a promotional strategy complements rather than substitutes for physical travel. This case study evaluates the use of virtual reality in destination marketing and analyzes the potential opportunities to use this emerging technology in Thailand, “The Land of Smiles.”

AB - The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected Thailand’s tourism industry as the country experienced a drastic fall in international arrivals from 2020 to mid-2022. Tourism activity has gradually recovered as travel restrictions have eased and international borders have reopened. The sustained growth in Thailand’s tourism services is due to the country’s impressive natural beaches, its islands, and its rich cultural heritage. To capture the next generation of tech-savvy visitors to Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has introduced virtual reality tours that provide visitors with an immersive, three-dimensional experience. Although virtual tours create many opportunities to enhance the tourism experience, their use as a part of a promotional strategy complements rather than substitutes for physical travel. This case study evaluates the use of virtual reality in destination marketing and analyzes the potential opportunities to use this emerging technology in Thailand, “The Land of Smiles.”

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Critical Case Study on Thailand Tourism

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Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies (Print ISSN: 1078-4950; Online ISSN: 1532-5822)

Case Reports: 2017 Vol: 23 Issue: 1

Case Study : Survival of a Market Leader In a Regional Integration of Emerging Economies: A Case Study of The Tourism Industry In Thailand

Nittaya Wongtada

National Institute of Development Administration

Donyapreuth Krairit

Case Descriptions

The primary subject matter of this case concerns tourism industry, industry analysis and competition, ethics and social conflict management. Secondary issues examined include alternative analysis, alternative response selection. The case has a difficulty level of five, appropriate for first year graduate level. The case is designed to be taught in 2 class hours and is expected to require 2 hours of outside preparation by students

Case Synopsis

In September 2016, the committee of the National Tourism Policy of Thailand held consecutive meetings to consider the National Tourism Development Plan for 2017-2021. Accounting for 8.5 percent of GDP in 2015, the tourism industry was important to the country. Following the Thai military coup in May 2014, the nation’s economy had been in shambles. The revenue from tourism was more vital to the economy than ever. However, this industry brought many problems to the society, including increased natural resource deterioration and crime syndicates. Competition from other destinations, including ASEAN member countries, was becoming more intense and could be a future threat to the industry since international tourism flows will be diverted. Economic recession in several sources of tourists was a looming threat. The massive rising of Chinese tourists was serendipitous, as the country’s revenue from this group was dominating the inflow travel trade, but it is too risky to rely on a single market.

While preparing the strategic tourism plan, the committee was evaluating which of three strategic directions would be able to achieve the desirable outcomes, which include increasing revenue, sustaining natural resources and increasing the country’s competitiveness. The first direction is to concentrate on the existing mass flow of foreign visitors. With the anticipated 30 million international tourists in 2016, there were thought to be various ways to alter the current situation to meet the objectives. The second strategic option was to appeal to high-value tourists who are able to spend more for better services. The third option was to offer specific activities to attract niche markets.

In which of these options should Thailand invest its valuable resources to gain the highest benefit out of its tourism industry? This was the strategic question that the Committee was charged with answering.

Birth of Tourism

Serving as bases for US troops and airfields during the Vietnam War in 1960s, the infrastructure of Thailand was developed as sex tourism for US soldiers and veterans. As a consequence, Thailand was one of the first players in Asia to capitalize on tourism (Felix Lowe, 2006). Fortunately, the film industry helped promote Thailand for other touristic appeals beyond that of a sexual playground (Felix Lowe, 2006). In 1974, the James Bond thriller, “The Man with the Golden Gun,” helped to establish the southern Phang-Nga National Park as a new tourist attraction. In 2000, “ The Beach ,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, used a serene and beautiful beach near Phuket for shooting the film, helping to intensify foreign fascination with the exotic beauty of Thailand. Thereafter, in 2012, the hugely popular comedy film, “ Lost in Thailand ,” brought a large number of Chinese tourists to Thailand (“Lost in Thailand film results,” n.d.). Concomitantly, international mass tourism increased due to the rising standard of living, more people acquiring more free time, and improved technology that allowed people to travel farther, faster and cheaper (“Activity 1 | The rise of tourism,” n.d.).

Tourist numbers grew from a mere 336,000 foreign visitors and 54,000 GIs in 1967 (Ouyyanont, 2001, pp.157-187) to about 30 million international tourist arrivals in 2015, generating income of 42 billion US dollars. The term “the country’s revenue from tourism” was misleading since Thailand did not receive income directly from tourists. It was circulating income where tourists’ spending in the country was circulating among those involved such as hotel owners, restaurant operators and taxi drivers. The data were collected through survey to estimate the revenue. The government receives the revenue directly from visa fees but this is not a major source of income. By 2013, the country had become the 10th "top tourist destination" based on world tourism rankings ( UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2014 Edition , 2015), the second most popular destination of international tourism worldwide, and, as of 2015, the world’s seventh biggest earner from international tourism (Wong & Choong, 2015). This was an outstanding success for an emerging economy located in Southeast Asia, with only 67 million people.

Present Situation

After over five decades, the tourism industry in Thailand had evolved to have the following characteristics.

Tourist Profiles

Domestic tourism was much larger than international tourism. In 2014, there were about 25 million international tourists, while the domestic tourists had over 133.9 million trips. A person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. This is the reason the number of domestic tourists exceeds the population in a country. For foreign tourists, their composition continued to shift. In the past, travelers from the US and other Western countries made up the majority of tourists arrivals in Thailand. In the mid-1970s, however, nationals from affluent nations in Asia including Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan – became the most important tourist groups in Thailand (Kontogeorgopoulos, 1998, pp. 225-238). This was because of the rapidly expanding middle class in these countries, which allowed them to increasingly travel abroad. However, in 2010’s, Chinese tourists dominated the country’s tourism trade by accounting for 19 percent of total foreign tourists in 2014, a threefold increase from 2013. In addition, Russian tourists commanded the highest growth rates in terms of the number of tourists, total revenue and spending per tourists. However, the growth of Russian tourists was fluctuating: it declined in 2015, but resumed its rate of increase again in 2016. As shown in Exhibit 1 below, if these trends continued, Chinese tourists would dominate the market.

Spending Patterns

As is apparent in Exhibit 2 , shopping was a favorite activity of international tourists visiting Thailand. More than half of the tourist’s expenditure went toward shopping and accommodation, as opposed to entertainment, food and local transportation. With respect to shopping, tourists from nearby regions tended to spend more on shopping, while those from distant regions spent more on accommodation. Among the top nationals visiting the country, tourists from India, Singapore, Laos and Malaysia spent at least 30 percent of their travel budget on shopping, while those from other regions, such as Australia, Japan, UK and the USA, spent more on accommodation. Those from Russia and the US paid more for entertainment and accommodation.

Tourists who traveled with a package tour spent more per day than non-group tourists. In 2013, only 28 percent of tourists traveled with tour groups. Even though package tour goers spent a shorter time on each trip than those who arranged their own travel, they were more active, judging from their spending more per day on shopping, food and beverage and transportation. On the other hand, non-group tourists spent more per trip since they stayed longer. Noticeably, more and more tourists planned their own travel or relied on travel agents to help them arrange their journey.

Seasonality

Tourism was highly seasonal. The peak tourist seasons were during January to March and November to December of each year (about 47 percent of foreign visitors in Thailand arrived during these five months). This coincided with a good climate (cool season) in Thailand, and unpleasant weather situations in Europe and the US, and East Asia (for example, North China, Korea and Japan) (“Tourism Statistics Thailand 2000-2016,” 2016). Nevertheless, there were some groups of tourists who did not follow this seasonal pattern. For instance, tourists from the Middle East preferred traveling during May to August to avoid the warmest period in their countries. Similarly, travelers from Australia and South Africa traveled to Thailand to escape their respective winter months during June to August. Travelers from countries in the region tended to arrive all year around depending on their holidays and school break periods. For instance, Chinese tourist arrivals peaked during long public holidays, including Chinese Lunar New Year in January or February and the Golden Week in October. Summer break in China was normally from July to the end of August allowing children to travel with their family.

Location Concentration

International tourism was highly concentrated in a few provinces with particular appeals ( Vision for Thai tourism 2558-2560, 2016). As shown in Exhibit 3 , in 2013, about 94 percent of international tourists traveled to 20 of 76 provinces of Thailand. Bangkok, the capital city, received the largest number of tourists. There were only 9 provinces which had more than one million foreign visitors per year. The attraction of six of these nine provinces was based on sea, sun and sand, while only two provinces, Attuthaya and Chiangmai, had their main attractions on culture and history.

Exhibit 3: Popular Tourist Destinations in Thailand

Return visitors tended to travel farther than first time visitors. In 2015, around 60 percent of Thailand's tourists were return visitors (“Two Trillion baht revenue in tourism and marketing missions,” 2013). Compared to the general tourists, the revisiting travelers tended to travel to more locations, and so spent more money on sightseeing and entertainment. They travelled beyond popular tourists locations (i.e., Bangkok, Chiangmai and Phuket) but were still concentrated mostly in the coastal areas in the south of Thailand. However, about half of the return visitors showed a willingness to travel to new places and engage in new activities (“Study on supportive way of tourism,” n.d.). They viewed the country as a “value destination.” In 2013, each return tourist spent about USD 1,290 per visit, compared to the $1,426 per visit of the first-time visitor. Assisting TAT’s governor in forming the strategic direction of Thailand tourism, Mrs. Jutaporn Rerngronasa, TAT’s Deputy Governor for International Marketing and a veteran of TAT expressed her concern about the repeat visitors from Europe as follows.

European tourists accounted for the largest sector of repeat visitors. They were like snow birds migrating to Thailand for warm weather. Nice weather, beautiful beach, delicious food, friendly people and affordable costs were the main attractions. In recent years, they diverted to one or more of our neighboring countries, i.e., Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to gain new experiences. These countries had relatively recently welcomed foreign visitors; and, several attractions of their countries were similar to Thailand’s.

Quality Tourists

Since 1990s, the concern that too many tourists visit few locations in a tightly compressed time had led to the drive for “quality,” as opposed to quantity tourists. Undesirable tourists were easily to spot, as they were those came to buy sex, or trade or consume illegal drugs or spent less than they consumed in terms of the country’s resources. However, there was disagreement on the definition of quality tourists (Kaosa-ard, 1994, pp.23-26). For those whose businesses catered to foreign tourists, quality tourists were big spenders who preferred well-known, international chain hotels, rode in chauffeur-driven limousines, and dined at expensive restaurants. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of socio-economists, true quality tourists were those who helped improve income distribution because they stayed in locally-owned hotels or guest houses, ate at local food stalls, and rode local transportation. From the idealistic perspective, quality tourists were those who ventured to new places to have personal contact and cultural exchange with the local people. These tourists wanted to learn about and appreciate the country’s cultural diversity.

There was some evidence that those tourists who used services provided by the locals left more income in the hands of the local people (Kaosa-ard, 1994, pp.23-26). Although the daily expenditure of this group was as not high as that of hotel dwellers, they actually spent more because they usually stayed in the country much longer (Kaosa-ard, 1994, pp.23-26). Nevertheless, Thailand's tourism boom coincided with a period of worsening income inequality, (Wattanakuljarus & Coxhead, 2008, pp.929-955) in that income from tourism did not seem to trigger down to the poor. Furthermore, expecting foreign tourists to immerse themselves in local culture was unrealistic because most tourists just wanted to enjoy and relax in a somewhat familiar environment while taking a vacation. Asia-Pacific travelers, in particular, tended to take shorter and more frequent holidays each year, and so there was little time for personal and cultural exchange.

The tourism industry had both positive and negative effects on Thailand. The negative consequences of tourism were the focus of the tourism committee. Here are some of important ones.

Cultural Clashes

A conflict arising from the interaction of foreign travelers who processed different beliefs and values from those of the host culture was inevitable. Even though many locals felt uneasy with the manner of foreign tourists from various countries, the cultural clash with Chinese tourists was prominent. Locals complained about bothersome Chinese behavior, such as spitting, littering, cutting into lines, disobeying traffic laws and letting their children relieve themselves in public. Some restaurant owners complained of Chinese tourists filling up doggy bags at buffets, (Denis, 2014) as well as talking and laughing at such loud volumes as to make it difficult for other guest to enjoy their own dining experience. Consequently, over the past few years, some hotels and restaurant buffets had made it clear that Chinese were unwelcome (“Chinese tourists are causing chaos,” 2016).

Environmental Deterioration

Although Thailand earned a lot of revenue from tourism, the industry had a negative impact on the environment. More constructions in marina areas and other water-based activities ruined the ocean. High concentration of tourism activities at some seaside resorts caused damage to coastal areas. Other environmental issues were, for example, noise disturbance, air pollution, and water contamination from the disposal of sewage and solid waste (“Tourism Industry,” 2016). In the opinion of Deputy Governor Jutaporn, this problem did not originate from the tourism trade per se, but rather from the local management. She elaborated as follows.

On several occasions, TAT was blamed for over stimulating tourists to a specific location. It led to overcrowding, pollution, a higher cost of living, etc. The local management could have ameliorated the problem by just limiting the number of visitors, but they did not do it because they would rather compete for more tourists to generate more revenue. Several locations offered similar attractions. If they just worked together to provide the information to tour operators in finding alternative locations, this problem would be reduced. Doing so would be difficult, unfortunately, because it required coordination among different local governing bodies.

Among the problems that foreign visitors would face in Thailand, safety was the most serious, and sometimes, life threatening one. According to the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2015, Thailand's safety level ranked 132 out of 140, worse than Lebanon, Mali, Burundi and Iran. The increases of 54 percent in tourist deaths and 160 percent in tourist injuries between 2014 and 2015 (“Thai Officials to investigate more than 50% Rise in Tourist Deaths,” 2016) were attributed to several factors. First and foremost was a lack of basic safety standards and the poor enforcement of existing laws, factors that had combined to give Thailand the second-highest road fatality rate in the world (Fernquest, 2015). Andrew M. Marshall, author of “ A Kingdom in Crisis: Thailand’s Struggle for Democracy in the Twenty-First Century ,” commented on the situation as follows.

In 2014, just as in the years preceding it, there were train, bus, ferry, speedboat, motorbike and car accidents, murders, knifings, unexplained deaths, numerous suicides, diving accidents, robberies gone wrong, anonymous bodies washing up on the shores and a string of alcohol- and drug-related incidents. . . . Its tourist industry is poorly managed and the Land of Smiles has come to justifiably be regarded as one of the most dangerous tourist destinations on Earth(Paris, 2014).

This safety issue was already worsening when, in August, 2016, attackers bombed a series of popular resort cities. Two bombs went off at tourist spots in the seaside resort town of Hua Hin, killing four and injuring at least 11 foreigners (Rothwell & Palazzo, 2016).

Crime Syndicates

Increasing numbers of foreign visitors attracted crime syndicates from various countries. German, Russian, West African, Japanese the Yakuza, Chinese, and South Korean gangsters thrived in Thailand. Relatively lax Thai law enforcement and corruption of some local authorities that had the effect of weakening border control, thereby allowed foreign mob organizations to expand their operations in the country (Schmid, 2012). These crime entities tended to target foreigners from their own nationality. Prostitution, human trafficking, drug trading, real estate scams, and money laundering were among their common activities. Thus, foreign tourists ran a risk of encountering local gangsters and foreign mafia while visiting Thailand.

Revenue Leakage

The success of Thailand’s tourism industry partly was due to foreign investment in accommodations, restaurants, airlines, car rentals, tour operators, travel agents, etc. The Thai government supported and assisted foreign businesses to invest in the tourism industry. International hotel and fast food chains were pervasive in popular tourist destinations. However, there were also a lot of illegal foreign operators catering to tourists from their own home countries. For instance, Russians set up companies by using a Thai nominee to operate travel services, restaurants, luxury housing estates and five-star hotels. Because of the lack of enforcement by the Thai immigration and labor departments, these Russians operated the business as their own, avoiding taxes and not applying for work permits (Thongrod, 2016). Likewise, as tourists from Chinese were increasing, Chinese businessmen bought property, set up businesses and took jobs from locals (“Chinese tourists are causing chaos,” 2016). The magnitude of the problem was amply illustrated by the estimate that 70 percent of all money spent by tourists in Thailand ended up leaving the country (“Negative Economic Impacts of Tourism,” n.d.). Mr. Pornchai Jitnavasathien, president of Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association expressed his frustration as follows.

The Chinese were investing in long-term leasing of apartments and hostels that are converted into daily accommodations for the rising numbers of Chinese tour groups visiting Chiang Mai. They operate without permits and are located outside the popular hotels and shopping zones . . . , and are managed solely by Chinese staff. Moreover, the Chinese currency is accepted for the convenience of visitors who are tricked into buying overpriced tour packages by Chinese tour agencies (Kangwanwong, 2016).

Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik, ex governor of TAT and a consultant for various businesses in the tourism industry, echoed the sentiment of Thai operators as follows:

Instead of adopting laissez faire practices, the government should limit the amount of supply in the tourism industry. Foreign tourists, particularly Chinese, would travel to Thailand anyway. When there were too many hotels, restaurants and other services, price competition was intense among these providers, causing the revenue per tourist to be lower than the desired level. There were no poor quality tourists, just poor management. Thailand could find ways to increase revenue from existing tourists, for example, charging a fee per tourist from tour operators or imposing mandatory visits for group tours to specific outlets of local SME products.

Indeed, the government responded to the industry’s outcry by employing a hard line in controlling Chinese-related operations in order to retain more tourism revenue in the country. TAT governor Yuthasak announced that the government would set standard package prices, control types of tour buses, tour guides and shops that could serve Chinese tourists, and recommend tourism routes. Above all, existing illegal activities would be suppressed (“Prayut ordered to hold an urgent meeting on Chinese zero-dollar tours,” 2016).

Putting these policies into implementation was complicated, as could be seen in the September 2016 arrest of the owners of cheap tour packages, known as “zero-dollar tours,” on charges of fraudulent registration and illegal operations. They were accused of registering in Thailand using local nominees but taking all revenue to China without paying taxes (“Zero-dollar tour crackdown gains momentum,” 2016). Their assets were confiscated. However, instead of receiving praise from those operating in the industry, the government was besieged by requests from several tourism agents such as the Association of Thai Travel Agents and the Thai Hotels Associations which wanted to find better measures to deal with Chinese tourists (“ Tour agents urge concert measures,” 2016). They were concerned that receiving a commission from sending tourists to shop at specific retailers, a common practice in the industry, would be treated as an illegal activity. Indeed, several units in the tourism industry were interconnected. Any action or decision, the committee had to carefully weigh the benefits and costs.

Global Tourism

While Thailand was dealing with its own internal challenges, the structure of global tourism industry was shifting. The travel and tourism industry was one of the world’s largest industries, with 1,133 million visitors worldwide, and contributed close to US$ 7.6 trillion to the world global economy in 2014 (“Statistics and Facts on the Global Tourism Industry ,” 2016). The vast majority of foreign trips took place within the same regions, i.e., about four out of five global arrivals occurring in the same region. Europe and the Americas were the most popular places to visit ( UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition , 2015). However, international arrivals in emerging countries were anticipated to outpace those in developed nations before 2020 ( UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition , 2015). Globally, travel for holidays, recreation and leisure was the most important tourism motive since it accounted for more than half of all international tourists in 2014. Only 14 percent of international tourists reported travelling for business and professional purposes, while the rest travelled for other reasons, such as visiting friends and relatives, religious reasons, or medical treatment, etc ( UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition , 2015).

In addition to the shift in spatial patterns, tourist’s activities had also changed. Currently, tourism’s appeal was based on sun, sand, and sea the most vibrant sector of the tourism industry. ( Global Trends in Marine and Coastal Tourism , 2016) Nevertheless, the following trends of tourism trends seemed destined to drive the direction of future industry growth.

Activity-based Tourism

Activity-based tourism incorporated various activities such as bird watching, cycling, diving,Niche tourism responded to increasingly sophisticated tourists who demanded custom-made tourism activities. Even though niche tourism was composed of various segments, the niches were overlapping. In 2013, cultural tourism was the largest niche tourism segment, which was estimated to be US$ 800 billion to US$ 1.1 trillion. On the other hand, wellness tourism was smaller (US$ 439 million), but tourists in this segment were also interested in other activities, including culinary, adventure, sports and cultural tourism as shown in Exhibit 4 . These niche segments were expected to expand rapidly but at different rates, e.g., cultural tourism at 2-4 percent per year (Richard, 2011), sport tourism at 14 percent (“Sports Tourism: Key drivers of Tourism,” 2014) eco or sustainable tourism between 20 percent and 34 percent per year (“Eco Tourism on The Rise,” n.d.), and wellness tourism at about 8 percent (Clausing, 2015).

Exhibit 4: Niche Tourism in the Global Market

Despite its high attractiveness, the market was highly fragmented, as could be readily seen in the wellness tourism niche. International wellness travelers spent on average USD 1,639 per trip, or 59 percent more than the average global tourist ( The Global Wellness Tourism Economy 2013, 2013). Wellness tourism was composed of various sub-segments, including spiritual retreats, wellness cruises, beauty clinics, fitness centers, and resort spas. Spa tourism as a group was a core business within wellness tourism and accounted for a significant portion (41 percent) of the wellness tourism economy sharing, 71.5 billion in 2012 ( The Global Wellness Tourism Economy 2013, 2013).

Senior Tourism

Although there was no estimation of the market size of senior tourism, older people (aged 60 years or over) would grow to reach 21.1 per cent of world population, or 2 billion in 2050( World Population Ageing 2013, 2013). In 2015, the senior population was found in many affluent nations such as Japan (26.4 million people), Germany (21.4 million), South Korea (13 million), France (18.7 million), UK (18.2 million), USA (14.7 million and China (9.2 million) (Mendiratta, 2015). Generally, these travelers preferred a higher level of comfort but perceived safety was the most important factor in their decision making and, as a result, they preferred package travel (Vojvodic, 2015). However, the behavior of senior tourists from different countries was diverse. For instance, after retirement, senior individuals in Russia experienced loss of friends and had more free time but reduced income an d so were price sensitive (Nikitina & Vorontsova, 2015, pp. 845-851). On the other hand, elder Chinese tourists were pampered by their children. Sponsoring their parents for vacation trips abroad was considered as being loyal, respectful and loving. These tourists were not sensitive to price but to quality. They usually traveled during the off-season to avoid hectic areas (Olivier, 2015).

Chinese Tourism

With over 100 million Chinese people forecasted to travel abroad by 2020, coupled with an increasingly affluent and sizeable middle class, China’s outbound tourist market affected the global tourism trade. They entered into the tourism market by traveling to foreign countries in the same region, with Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan being their top five destinations in Asia. When they gained more experience in traveling abroad, they would travel outside of Asia. As a consequence, Chinese tourists traveling to Europe increased 97 percent during 2011-2014, followed by increases in travel to the Middle East (up 177 percent) and North America (up 151 percent) (Lin, 2015).

China’s outbound tourists preferred destinations with an appeal based on historical and cultural experiences, and shopping. They were keen on shopping because when they traveled abroad, they were expected to bring home gifts for relatives and friends. The Chinese were avid buyers who spent on average nearly USD 1,000 per trip when shopping abroad. (Olivier, 2015) The farther they traveled, the more they shopped (Lin, 2015). To appeal to Chinese shoppers, providing Mandarin-speaking staff and accepting China UnionPay credit cards were crucial. Marketing campaigns during Chinese national holidays, developing new product specifically for the Chinese market, and increasing visibility on Chinese online shopping portals were effective ways to lure these avid shoppers(“How to Target Chinese Shoppers,” 2016).

Asean Destination

Membership in ASEAN was another challenge for Thailand in forming a strategic tourism plan. In January 10, 2009, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries agreed to collaborate on tourism strategy which intended to promote Southeast Asia as a single destination. With ten member countries, ASEAN intended to have an integrated image of the region as a destination providing diverse experiences for international tourists. The integration of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) occurred along the opening of a common AEC visa on 31 December 2015. To increase the value of the region’s tourism trade, member countries planned to offer tour packages spanning several countries (Mohamed, 2016). Currently, citizens of the ASEAN could travel to other member countries without the need for a visa.

Situated in the same geographical region, ASEAN member nations inherited similar tourism attractions in terms of natural resources, culture, traditions and hospitality (Mohamed, 2016). As new participants in tourism, lesser economically developed member nations, i.e., Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (the so-called CLMV countries), had advantages in their unspoiled nature and world renowned heritage sites. More developed nations had advantages in terms of offering sophisticated metropolitan experiences in shopping, dining, meetings, entertainment and medical services. As a group, ASEAN selected culture, nature and cruise appeals in encouraging more tourists to visit the region, as shown in Exhibit 5 . (ATMS 2011-2015, 2012) ( Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity , 2013) There are a number of challenges ASEAN must address if it is to succeed in its efforts to integrate the tourism sector in the region. Amongst others, these include the harmonization of visa requirements, the development of third party liability insurance, the standardization of tourism related services, the upgrading of tourism related infrastructure, and facilitation for inflow of tourists across the region (Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, Association of Southeast Asian Nations? This collaboration was not without problems, as could be surmised by Mrs. Jutaporn’s description of tourism collaboration among ASEAN members.

Exhibit 5: Country's Ranking of the Importance of Various Tourism Resources and Experiences

It is difficult to set up a single visa across ASEAN. More economically advanced countries are more willing than the CLMV. A single visa meant member countries would lose the income from visa fees, which is more important to the CLMV. The CLMV are collaborating in offering a single visa among themselves but not extending it to other ASEAN members yet. Each of them has famous world heritage sites which make up their strengths. For instance, Cambodia has Angkor Wat which is the largest religious monument and complex in the world. Laos’ Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, is a provincial city where time still seems to stand still. Luckily, Thailand is situated in the center of Southeast Asia which allows us to be the central airport hub of the region. We are trying to form collaboration with one CLMV country at a time.

Tourism accounted for approximately 10 percent of ASEAN GDP. ASEAN’s share in the global tourism trade increased from 7.5 percent in 2010 to 8.5 percent in 2014( UNWTO Tourism Highlights , 2015). Its visitor arrivals rose significantly from 73 million in 2010 to 105 million in 2014, about half of which were intra-ASEAN ( Exhibit 6 ).

The CLMV group gained more from participating in this cooperation. Compared to more developed ASEAN members, the CLMV received fewer foreign tourists, and their revenue per tourist was less than that of their more developed counterparts. Yet, the CLMV achieved higher growth rates in both the number of arrivals and revenue receipts. As a group, it saw 123 percent increase in foreign visitors, mainly from other ASEAN nations. Their tourism receipts were had tremendously expanded by nearly fivefold. Within the CLMV group, the tourism in Myanmar performed exceptionally well. It realized a 300 percent increase in international tourists and revenue growth of 1,673 percent during the period 2010-2014. Visitors from outside ASEAN contributed a larger share of Myanmar’s tremendous growth than those from within ASEAN. Moreover, its business opportunities attracted a number of investors (Chhor et al., 2013). It had an abundance of cheap labor and was located at the center of the world’s fasting-growing region. Deputy TAT Governor Jutaporn believed that the future of the CLMV had high potential.

In the future, the CLMV will be major players in this industry. Currently, their infrastructure is underdeveloped. It is more expensive to visit these countries. Hotels cost more, and foods have limited varieties in both types and quality levels. Activities beyond the major touristic attractions like shopping, fun parks and other entertainments are limited. Likewise, the interconnectivity between cities is inconvenient. Eventually, these problems will disappear because the tourism industry has attracted a lot of investment from domestic and foreign investors.

Among more developed member countries of ASEAN, in 2014, Malaysia had the largest number of foreign tourists (27 million) following by Thailand (24 million) and Singapore (15 million). However, Malaysian’s growth rate of tourists was lower than ASEAN average. Its revenue per tourist had also declined from US$ 959 in 2010 to US$824 in 2014. A large proportion of these arrivals were intra-ASEAN, with half of them coming from Singaporeans who were budget travelers, despite their significantly higher purchasing power. They were familiar with the local lifestyles and so searched for value rather than novelty (Chong, 2016). In contrast, Thailand received the highest revenue per tourist, had a higher revenue growth rate, and welcomed more foreign tourists from outside the ASEAN than any other ASEAN country (Chong, 2016). Exhibit 6 shows such trends. Moreover, those tourists from the CLMV accounted for over forty percent of all tourists from ASEAN visiting Thailand in 2015. They came to enjoy a more metropolitan environment, shopping and medical treatment. TAT governor Yuthasak wanted to seize this opportunity by adding more direct flights between Thailand and each CLMV country, as well as facilitating the cross border travel by land (“TAT to collaborate with CLMVT countries to stimulate tourism,” 2016).

Future Direction

The committee for national tourism policy of Thailand was responsible for forming the National Tourism Development Plan for 2017-2021. It was composed of representatives from numerous government agencies (see Exhibit 7 ). In addition to shaping the country’s tourism policy, the committee was responsible for facilitating, following up on and evaluating the implementation of the policy. An anonymous source from the TAT board provided insight into the difficulty in coordinating among various agencies.

It looked good on paper that there were various governmental agencies working together in promoting and managing the tourism industry. Unfortunately, in practice, these government units were independent, and acted autonomously. It was difficult to coordinate among these agencies. Even though they had a good intention to help, they could not control every unit in their organization. Thus, good intention did not always translate into implementation. On several occasions, their actions hurt the tourism industry. For example, local newspapers reported a car accident between a Thai and drive-in tourists who did not have any local auto insurance policy. Instead of enforcing the insurance requirement, the Land Transport Department banned visiting motorists from driving beyond the province of entry in June 27, 2016. Chinese tourists in Northern provinces dried up. Also, many Chinese elected to travel to neighboring countries instead. Now, the Ministry of Transport is considering removing this restriction.

Potential Next Moves

Whichever the strategic direction of Thailand tourism, the committee members agreed that their choices must be able to fulfill multiple objectives: increasing income from tourism, retaining more revenue in the country, having a more even income distribution, preserving natural resource and social sustainability, reducing seasonality, and sustaining the country’s competitiveness. With these objectives in mind, the committee was considering these three main directions of foci

Current Tourists

If current tourists were the center of focus, there were many challenges associated with maintaining and attracting this massive tourist flow. The problem from overcrowding tourists and others would be exacerbated if the number of tourists were allowed to continue expanding without better management. Chinese travelers would increase further because Thailand was a short-haul flight and viewed as a value-for-money destination with good airline connections and convenient visa application on arrival (Muqbil ,2013). In 2016, about 10-20 per cent of Chinese visitors were from the high-end market, 30-40 per cent for the middle market, and 50 per cent for the low-end segment (Jirarushnirom, 2016). Chinese tourists who travelled to a foreign country for the first time chose to travel with the tour group. They were budget travelers who pursued neither adventure nor luxurious accommodation, and were price sensitive (“Eco Tourism on The Rise Current situations and trends in tourism.,” 2015). They wanted to see the most popular tourist spots and did not know much about local customs. If this group was overlooked, Thailand would miss a global opportunity. Other countries would welcome them with open arms.

The popularity of Thailand among Chinese tourists may arise from the current situation in the region, as described by Deputy Director Jutaporn.

The dispute about the South China Sea put China in conflict with Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. So, traveling to these countries was not encouraged. Chinese officials view tourism as closely linked to larger diplomatic strategies. China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy allowed only government-approved travel agencies to offer group package tours and acquire visa in bulk to countries that the Chinese government had approved their ADS status. Thailand was not a party in this conflict and so was on the list of approved destinations.

High-Value Tourists

Expanding upscale products and services to accommodate high-end tourists was another option. Based on research projects on high-value foreign visitors, commissioned by the TAT in 2013, the high-value tourists from China, India, Russia and ASEAN countries shared common profiles: they were more likely to have college degrees, be younger than 45 years old, exude more self-confidence, reside in large and prosperous cities, and travel abroad more often than the general population in their respective countries. The high value tourists were defined as those with monthly income of at least US$ 1,500. They spent more for each trip and stayed longer. Interestingly, they shared similar preferences to the general tourist, including shopping, coastal areas, diverse activities and food. However, they required superior and personalized services. Thailand was perceived positively but as a value destination, not a luxury one, and not a very safe place. Given a choice, they would rather travel to more developed nations such as the USA and European countries. hown in Exhibit 8 , the market size and spending per trip of this segment was estimated in the aforementioned research projects. Mr. Yuthasak proposed to the committee to focus on bringing in more quality tourists as the most important strategic direction because he believed that this group could upgrade the industry, as well as increase the revenue. However, appealing to this segment would not be a new strategy, as seen in Mrs. Jutaporn’s explanation below.

TAT’s past five-year plan, which would end in 2016, stressed the importance of this segment. We put together promotional activities to entice this group and had a certain level of success. Currently, about 5 percent of our international tourists were from this group. More five star hotels, Michelin restaurants, and other exclusive activities sprang up in Bangkok and Phuket to serve this market. Nevertheless, the ultra-high income group still hesitated to visit Thailand because they viewed our country as a common location plagued with crime, drug, and sex trade, and as an unsafe place.

Niche Tourism

The development of niche markets such as meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE), healthcare holidays, ecotourism, and weddings & honeymoons could help Thailand to differentiate its tourism from neighboring countries. In 2013, 66.9 percent of foreign tourists visiting Thailand were for a “general” visit, 11.8 percent for business, 5.8 percent for visiting friends and relatives, 3.4 percent for meeting or seminar and 12 percent for specific activities (Lorchaiyakul, 2014) Out of the latter 12 percent, 4 percent had the visit purpose for honeymoon and wedding, another 4 percent for nature tourism, 2 percent for golf and 2 percent for health related tourism (“Research project on Potentials and Market size for niche tourism,” 2013). The details of some important niche tourism were as follows.

Honeymoon and Wedding

Thailand had been a popular destination among wedding and honeymoon couples from North East Asia (44 percent of this niche market), Europe (28 percent) and Southeast Asia (15 percent). In recent years, the country saw increasing numbers of weddings from India. Some Indian wedding groups surpassed 1,500 guests. The wedding tourist tended to travel during Thailand’s peak tourism season. The factors influencing them to visit Thailand were beautiful beaches, luxurious hotels and good weather. Thailand’s hotels in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Samui had the capability to host wedding of any size, and in any setting or theme.

Health and Wellness

For the medical tourism, the reasons for patients traveling abroad for healthcare were cost savings, shorter wait periods, and treatment that were not available in their own countries. Among the total number of tourists to Thailand, about 2.5 million had already visited for health tourism or medical tourism reasons. However, Thailand faced serious shortages of healthcare professionals. If further promoted, international medical tourism industry would drain personnel resources from hospitals servicing the local populace. Wellness centers, however, did not face this limitation and so offered a full range of services from a clean diet to personalized regenerative and metabolic treatments.

Thailand was one of the top three golf destinations, attracting about one million golf tourists annually. Thailand’s foreign golf tourism continued to expand. An international golf tourist spent an average of USD 3,300 per trip --- three times higher than an average tourist. These five major golf destinations were their favorites: Bangkok, Phuket, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai (Sullivan, 2011). The majority of these foreign golfers (71 percent) was from North and East Asia, while Europeans accounted for 15 percent (“Research project on Potentials and Market size for niche tourism,” 2016). Golfers’ requirements were beautiful golf courses, 5-star accommodation and facilities, excellent services and good weather.

MICE tourists were another high-spending potential group. An average MICE tourist spent three times more than a general tourist. The MICE sector accounted for less than 3 percent of the annual international tourist arrivals to Thailand but was expanding. In 2013, the number of this group exceeded one million, of which 72 percent were from Asia. The top five countries from which they came were India, China, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia, but China was the main market, both in terms of the number of visitors (128,437) and spending (USD 360 million). The requirements of this market were similar to that for golfers, i.e., 5-star accommodation and facilities, excellent services and good weather. In addition, they wanted to engage in other activities, including sightseeing and shopping.

There was a proposal to form tourism clusters in order to entice foreign tourists to venture beyond typically popular attractions. Each of these clusters was planned for a group of provinces and had distinct objectives. For instance, the northeastern civilization cluster incorporating Nakorn Rachasima, Buriram, Surin, Srisaket, and Ubon Ratchatani provinces aimed to develop tourism relating to local lifestyle and knowledge and linked with neighboring countries (i.e., Laos, Myanmar and South China). Andaman in the lower south would be a gateway to connect and send tourists to other parts of the country (“Kobkarn to focus 2017 tourism strategy on high quality tourism,” 2015). Exhibit 9 shows the clusters of these tourism regions. The success of this cluster depended on the collaboration within each group, e.g., not undercutting prices and developing their manpower, facilities and infrastructure to meet the higher standards of international tourists. Realistically, in the short term, several of the clusters might be more attractive to local tourists than international ones. In fact, Mr. Yuthasak relied on the promotion to Thai tourists to sustain the industry whenever the number of international tourists declined due to negative events such as the deadly bombings attacks across seven southern Thai provinces in last August. (TAT Governor to use big events to stimulate local tourism, 2015)

Exhibit 9: Planned Tourism Clusters in Thailand

However, pitching culture as a tourism product could be a sensitive issue as seen in the case of the "Fun to travel in Thailand" music video that was launched in September 2016 for the TAT to persuade Thais to travel domestically, instead of taking a trip abroad. The Ministry of Culture ordered the producer to change the contents they deemed as damaging to the Thai culture. The authority believed that the characters from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian Hindu Ramayana epic, should be reserved in the traditional and classical forms and should not be presented as engaging in popular touristic activities such as serving coconut cream cakes, taking selfies and driving go-carts at popular tourist locations (“Campaign backs use of ogres in tourism fun video,” 2016). Exhibit 10 shows some captures of this advertisement.

Exhibit 10: “Fun to Travel in Thailand" Music Video

Time for Decision

As suggested by the above discussion of the industry, the committee’s challenge was to develop a plan that would not only keep tourist arrival numbers on the upward trend, but do so in a way that would, ideally, yield more tourist revenue per capita; not over-stress the most popular tourist destinations in the nation; facilitate a more equitable distribution of tourist income among the populace; ensure the at the maximum amount of revenue remained within Thailand and not leaked out to the foreign nominees; and, lay the foundation for future offerings that could better differentiate Thailand from its regional competitors all the while avoiding, if possible, the domination of tourist arrivals by any particular demographic group and cultural clashes. Clearly, this was a tall challenge and one made all the more challenging by the many different combinations and permutations into which the strategic options could be arrayed. Doubtlessly, some trade-offs would be required, such as, the types of tourists and the number of tourists that the country can accommodate. The committee believed, however, that it now had a sufficient robust picture of the state of the tourism industry in Thailand to begin to sort through the strategic options in search of the optimal ones.

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Crisis adaptation in a thai community-based tourism setting during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative phenomenological approach.

1. Introduction

2. literature review, 2.1. the study context: baan maung nong khai, northeast of thailand, 2.2. the importance of cbt on baan maung nong khai, 2.3. adaptations of local community and business during covid-19, 2.4. fear of traveling and stay home impacts on domestic tourism, 3. research methodology, 3.1. research design, 3.2. sample, 3.3. data collection, 3.4. data analysis, 4. empirical findings and discussion, 4.1. personal and corporate profile of the informants, 4.2. main findings, 4.2.1. the impacts of covid-19.

※ “Tourism destinations are all closed so I can’t sell (goods) in high season, no travelling, no transportation, and no income…that seriously affects my living.” (LP 02)

※ “Before the COVID-19, I have a lot of customers, but when the COVID-19 happens, I hardly sell out any products. Travelling is difficult, which is very inconvenient for me to go back and pick-up goods in the city for running business. I have to be more careful than before.” (LP 24)

※ “Villagers who drive e-tak cars have to go back to farming during the COVID-19 because nearly 90% of the villagers are farmers. However, during the COVID-19, the agricultural product price has dropped considerably; thus, we have no income.” (EN 01)

※ “…the worst impact is that the number of tourists dramatically decreased. Prior to the travel restrictions, crowds of people regularly came to visit our coffee shops and enjoyed photo taking activities nearby our shops around the Mekong River.” (EN 03)

※ “Travelling for my duties is very difficult…leaving your district requires obtaining permission from the province governors.” (LG 01)

※ “Difficult to travel to other areas… and the job duties increased a lot… Although travel expenses increased, my salary remained the same.” (LG 02)

4.2.2. Adaptation Actions Taken

※ “Prior to COVID-19, I was a full-time worker. But, since the COVID-19 outbreaks, my employer hires me only 2 days a week. So, I start to open my online shop to earn extra income.” (LP 15)

※ “… I work for the second job which is a rubber tapper in the evening after finishing my duty. If I don’t have a second job, I would not have enough money for living.” (LG 04)

※ “…I take a second job…” (LG 03, LP 18, LG 06)

※ “I reduce daily expense as much as I can to save money…buy only necessities...” (LG 29)

※ “…we have to reduce inventory and lay off some staff to cut down the operating cost…” (EN 02, EN 04)

※ “…we have to change price to the target customers and offer delivery service…” (EN 03)

※ “I am going to close the shop for now and be a farming and gardening laborer to make more money to support daily living.” (LP 30)

※ “During the COVID-19 pandemic, I am not permitted to travel to the waterfall and sell goods to tourists, so I make brooms and grass flowers for extra income.” (LP 16)

※ “…Find forest products to sell or raw materials that can be stored for a long time…in case if I can’t sell it in a short time, I don’t waste it.” (LP 02)

※ “…I need to find other places to sell my products.… people don’t walk in my store these days…so I open an online store…” (LP 25)

4.2.3. Implications of Future Recommendations

※ “I need government monetary subsidies to help me pay rent...” (LP 01)

※ “I need government monetary subsidies to reduce the loan interests.” (LP24, EN02, EN04)

※ “I need government monetary subsidies to reduce agricultural debts.” (LP08)

※ “Government should offer monetary subsidies, and reduce the tuition fees for students since during these time students do not go to school.” (LP 12)

※ “…if we have effective vaccinated, we can shorten the quarantine and go back to normal life earlier.” (LP03, LG 06)

※ “…I need government monetary subsidies and effective vaccination…” (LP 05, LP 11)

※ “Government should increase the price and value of agricultural products… and offer effectively vaccines.” (EN 01)

※ “…during the COVID-19, the productivity and price of agricultural products have dropped considerably, we have to make new products and increase the value…” (EN 03; LP 10)

5. Conclusions and Implications

Supplementary materials, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

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Sann, R.; Lai, P.-C.; Chen, C.-T. Crisis Adaptation in a Thai Community-Based Tourism Setting during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Phenomenological Approach. Sustainability 2023 , 15 , 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010340

Sann R, Lai P-C, Chen C-T. Crisis Adaptation in a Thai Community-Based Tourism Setting during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Phenomenological Approach. Sustainability . 2023; 15(1):340. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010340

Sann, Raksmey, Pei-Chun Lai, and Chi-Ting Chen. 2023. "Crisis Adaptation in a Thai Community-Based Tourism Setting during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Phenomenological Approach" Sustainability 15, no. 1: 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010340

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Digital Marketing for promoting Thailand Tourism, Case Study: The Tourism Authority of Thailand

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Online tourism and travel (analyzing trends from marketing perspective), tourism information technology, tourism, technology and competitive strategies, etourism: a comparison of online and offline bookings and the importance of hotel attributes, mobile marketing communications in consumer markets, tourism and leisure research methods: data collection, analysis, and interpretation, services marketing: integrating customer focus across the firm, understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation.

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Thailand’s coral reefs not only attract a wealth of tourists, contributing to the national economy but also provide a significant revenue through the fisheries sector, as well as playing an important social, economic and nutritional role for local coastal communities. However, as with most coral reefs around the world, these are being severely degraded due to overfishing, destructive fishing practices, eutrophication, coastal development, and pollution. This has affected Thailand’s fishing sector, with both commercial and small-scale fishing showing a declining trend since 2002. Since 1978, Thailand has been deploying artificial reefs to compensate for these losses and as a tool to strengthen coastal habitats and small-scale fisheries, in both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.

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Bauer, N.R., Kittel, I.J., Schoenig, E., Ferse, S.C.A., Wild, C. (2023). Thailand Case Study. In: Wolff, M., Ferse, S.C., Govan, H. (eds) Challenges in Tropical Coastal Zone Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17879-5_16

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MEDICAL TOURISM IN THAILAND: A CASE STUDY OF THE BANGKOK METROPOLITAN AREA

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Location choice and decision-making are the basic and critical issues in economic investment. Given the rapid development of rural tourism, scientific decision-making on rural tourism investment (RTI) plays a vitally important role in local industrial efficiency and achievements. To learn the connotation of RTI and enrich our knowledge on the evolutionary characteristics of its location choice factors in destination phased development, this paper has comprehensively analysed RTI and built a location choice factor system from the perspective of the human-land relationship system based on an empirical study of Zhejiang Province in China. (1) According to human-land relationship theory, RTI is constructed by a systematic content of “investors-factors-objects”, and its location choice is related to the local industrial economy, social and cultural development, and natural environment. (2) Contributions of location choice factors present a clear decreasing trend among the industrial economy, social and cultural conditions, and natural environment to RTI decision-making in the study area, while the industrial economy gradually stands out with rural tourism destination evolution successively from the initial stage, development stage, and rapid expansion stage to the upgrading and efficiency improvement stage. (3) Evolution of RTI location choice is a process of making different investment decisions in various regional rural tourism development stages, as the rural human–land relationship system has a deep influence on RTI earning expectations and “investors-factors-objects”.

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Efficient and consistent adaptive mesh generation for geophysical models: A case study over the Gulf of Thailand

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Geophysical domains typically exhibit intricate, irregular boundaries characterized by fractal-like geometries, while underlying physical processes operate across a broad spectrum of spatial scales. The challenge lies in generating spatial discretization of these domains that conform to their geographical constraints, utilizing anisotropic, fully adaptive meshes. This problem is compounded by the vast range of scales and a notably heterogeneous parameter space. Current methodologies often rely on ad hoc, model-specific, or application-dependent approaches, which lack comprehensive descriptions. Consequently, the development of new spatial domains is labor-intensive, prone to errors, challenging to replicate, and difficult to maintain consistency due to substantial human involvement. This predicament poses obstacles to the reproducibility of simulations and the establishment of provenance in data handling and model initialization, and it hinders rigorous model intercomparisons. Furthermore, the likelihood of discrepancies in model initialization and forcing parameters increases when employing flexible adaptive meshes. This paper introduces a systematic approach to the automated generation of adaptive meshes for geophysical models. This method is efficient in its generation process and readily reproducible, offering robust and consistent adherence to the source data. The proposed approach facilitates research in complex multi-scale geophysical domains, which would be challenging using existing methods. A simulation of monthly mean currents was carried out as a case study in the Gulf of Thailand. Results revealed that the simulated current circulations agreed with the observation. Examples of its application in various ongoing geophysical modeling endeavors illustrate its effectiveness.

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