Cholada Siddhivarn, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand (Mumbai) tells Nichola Pais of the varied new experiences in store for repeat visitors
Thailand apparently remains a hot favourite for Indian tourists…
Yes, last year Thailand attracted 32 million tourists worldwide. While we are happy with these figures, we don’t focus on the number of tourists visiting Thailand; we are more interested in the income of the country. India ranks 7th in terms of the highest number of tourists visiting Thailand. Last year, 1.2 million Indians visited Thailand. This year, from January until July we have had 900,000 Indian visitors to Thailand, which is an increase of more than 13%.
What are the reasons for its popularity with Indian tourists?
Thailand shares a long relationship with India; it has flowed from generation to generation. It is not just restricted to tourism. Much of Thai culture and even our names are influenced by that of India. Our food, our beliefs, some of our gods, our dressing, shares similarity to India, with some adaptions. We also have nearly the same whether – there is not much difference between Mumbai and Bangkok! I would say that Indians are like extended family; a part of Thailand. Thailand is on every Indian’s bucket list; it is generally the first foreign destination of most Indians. It is close, familiar and yet beautiful.
Thailand is apparently going all out to attract repeat visitors…
Absolutely! Last year we launched a campaign called Open to the New Shades of Thailand, which is aimed at repeat travellers. The idea is to tell tourists that there is much more to Thailand than they have seen. There are a lot of places and attractions which are beautiful and deserve experiencing. The campaign has five arms: Beach & Leisure – besides Phuket and Pattaya, the East coast of Thailand is very beautiful as well, Arts & Craft, Culture, Gastronomy, and Way of Life, which includes community-based living. It is an ongoing campaign. We also focus on women travellers; we would like to draw more women to Thailand.
What sort of experiences can tourists expect?
Thailand is a lot more than leisure and the sea. We are also focussing on lifestyle – from golf to gastronomy, to community-based tourism and adventure activities. Community-based tourism introduces you to the old way of life that still exists unchanged in certain pockets of Thailand, including traditional activities like growing paddy, creating tie-and-dye fabrics, cooking etc. These activities are a big draw for youngsters and students, who haven’t experienced anything like it before. Our gastronomy activities give you first-hand experience of Thai food which is so much more than Tom Yum, Pad Thai, Thai curry, and includes various desserts. There are myriad of experiences waiting to be sampled.