By Linda Khoo Hui Li
BANGKOK, March 9 (NNN-Bernama) — Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is showcasing the ‘Visit Thailand Year 2023: Amazing New Chapters’ campaign at ITB Berlin 2023, as the kingdom looks to attract 5.8 million tourists from the Europe market.
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said Thailand’s presence at the world’s largest tourism trade fair, is focused on creating awareness of the ‘Visit Thailand Year 2023: Amazing New Chapters’ campaign, and the kingdom’s direction towards more sustainable and responsible tourism.
“TAT is currently developing the Sustainable Tourism Goals (STGs) in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, which will help drive the entire Thai tourism industry to put sustainability into practices.
“There will be a STAR (Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Rating) system that certifies tourist businesses in the area of tourism sustainability. Businesses that are able to comply with a number of goals will attain a corresponding amount of stars,” he said in a statement.
This year, TAT is eyeing to welcome about 5.8 million tourists from Europe and generate 406.42 billion baht in tourism revenue.
The Thailand Stand at ITB Berlin 2023 – the 56th edition of the show, and the first in-person staging of the event since the pandemic is promoting the leveraging of Thailand’s 5Fs soft-power foundations – Food, Film, Fashion, Festival, and Fight.
The Thai delegation to the show led by the TAT comprises 70 tourism sellers from Thailand, predominantly hotels and resorts, with one health provider – Bumrungrad Hospital.
The majority of sellers (47 per cent) are from the South, reflecting the preference in the European market for beach holidays, while 35 per cent are from Bangkok, 11 per cent from the Central region, and 7 per cent from the East, which is an emerging island destination for the German market.
Earlier, the elder sister of Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn, Princess Ubolratana graciously supported her country’s presence at the travel show.
She visited the Thailand Stand on Tuesday (March 7) and demonstrated the making of Thai potpourri and herbal compress. The activities correspond with the tourism direction that focuses on promoting the health and wellness segment for European travellers.
Thailand is targeting between 25 and 30 million foreign tourists to visit the kingdom this year as tourism sector is seeing a quick rebound.
Statistics showed that Thailand welcomed 4.2 million foreign travellers in January and February this year.
Thailand, one of Asia’s most popular travel destinations, was visited by nearly 40 million people in 2019.
— NNN-BERNAMA
