Thailand eyes to raise tourism-related revenues

BANGKOK, January 12 (TNA) - The state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) welcomes the government's policy on promoting domestic tourism through the newly-launched "One Tambon, One Tourist Destination" Scheme, while targeting to generate up to 2.41 trillion baht of tourism-related revenues for the country this year. TAT was assigned to proceed with the "One Tambon, One Tourist Destination" Scheme, after a meeting in Bangkok on January 11, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who oversees economic affairs, and also attended by Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn, as well as operators of Thai tourism and hotel businesses. The meeting discussed on how to steadily stimulate the domestic tourism sector to offset a drop in national income from Thai exports caused by a global economic slowdown. At Monday meeting, Somkid also ordered all concerned agencies to come up with domestic tourism promotion campaigns to be proposed to the Thai Cabinet for further consideration, along with assigning TAT to launch the "One Tambon, One Tourist Destination" Scheme through its cooperation with the private sector, aimed to promote and develop existing Thai tourist sites and distribute tourism-related revenues to areas throughout the country. The tourism and sports minister later told journalists that Thailand's tourism policies this year are focused on promoting domestic tourism in various dimensions, covering campaigns to draw more visitors from the ASEAN Community (AC), night tours at beautifully-decorated tourist attractions, water tourism and sports tourism. The minister said her ministry will also hold talks with airlines to increase their flights to newly-promoted domestic tourist destinations. Besides, TAT will implement the "Thai Helps Thai" activity, in which tour packages with special discounts will be introduced to stimulate domestic tourism, aimed to earn Thailand more tourism-related revenues to 2.41 trillion baht this year, from earlier target of 2.33 trillion baht. On January 12, the tourism and sports minister revealed after the Cabinet's weekly meeting that her ministry plans to purchase 3,000 tonnes of natural rubber to be used for the construction of new sports fields and walkways at domestic tourist destinations and the production of wristbands to promote the Thai tourism in a bid to help boost domestic rubber prices and to assist local rubber growers. (TNA)