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Published on July 9, 2007

The number of Japanese visitors in the first five months was 4.59 per cent lower than in the same period last year. Japan is Thailand's second-largest tourism market after Malaysia, which sent 1.4 million tourists to the Kingdom last year.

The TAT road show from July 1-7 focused on the Japanese provinces of Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. Thirty-six private companies took part - 30 hotels and resorts in Bangkok, Koh Samui, Phuket and Chiang Mai, five golf course operators and one travel firm.

Shojun Fukui, president and CEO of tour operator LongLive Corp, who visited the road show in Osaka, said Japanese tourists were concerned about the Kingdom's political problems, particularly after the New Years' Eve bomb blasts in Bangkok.

"We believe Thailand will have a stronger political situation after the general election at the end of this year and return to being the best tourist destination," he said.

He believes that bookings of trips to Thailand will rise over the next 12 months.

Kazumi Mawatari, manager of Nishitetsu Travel's Asia overseas department, who visited the road show in Fukuoka, said Japanese tourists had switched destinations to countries such as Australia, China and Hong Kong due to concerns about Thailand's political problems.

However, the TAT's updated information on the political situation should convince Japanese tourists to return. Its campaign to attract Japanese travellers who need special services and various kinds of activities would also help, he said.

"We are getting bookings to Thailand during Japan's long school holidays in August. New Japanese tourists want to visit Koh Samui, Krabi and the northeastern provinces," Mawatari said, adding that number of Japanese visitors to Thailand would increase in the final quarter.

Phummisak Hongsyok, managing director of Anuphas Group, one of the participating companies and owner of a golf club in Phuket, said there was positive feedback from Japanese tour operators on packages to Phuket.

"We also got bookings for next year during the road show," he said.

Luecha Karnmuang, director of sales for the Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket, also reported new bookings for next year from Japanese tour operators.

TAT governor Phornsiri Manoharn said the road show was part of the authority's new focus on targeted consumer marketing.

"TAT's marketing concept is to focus not only on target countries but also to offer different tour packages to serve customer demand," she said.

For Japan, the TAT used the "Chic Vanity and Amazing Thailand" concept to boost the number of free independent travellers (FITs) instead of relying only on bookings through tour agents. FITs find out about destinations through the Internet or from tour operators and can arrange their travel programme themselves.

FITs accounted for only 8 per cent of Japanese visitors to Thailand.

Phornsiri said free independent travellers spent more than tourists booked through tour operators - on average Bt6,000 per head per day compared to Bt4,500.

"Despite the drop in the number of Japanese tourists in the first five months this year, the TAT expects an increase in terms of volume and value by the end of the year as the road show will attract more travellers," she said.

Phornsiri said the agency would also use the targeted marketing concept in other countries and areas - especially Australia, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and Singapore - in the second half of the year with a new campaign called "Welcome to My Thailand, Amazing Thailand'', which will be launched this month.

The campaign is part its drive to achieve the target of Bt547.5 billion in tourism revenues this year even though the number of tourists is expected to be 14.6 million, short of the target of 14.8 million.

"When we focus on quality tourists, we may lose in numbers of tourists but in terms of value we will meet the target this year," the governor said.

"We expect tourist numbers will increase by up to 8 per cent in the coming year from 14.6 million this year. And in terms of value, there will be an increase of up to 10 per cent next year from Bt547.5 billion this year," she added.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation

TOKYO