Proactive Campaign to Attract Japanese Tourists
Thailand is launching a proactive campaign to attract more Japanese tourists to Thailand, especially Japanese first-timers and female visitors.
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According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Japan is one of seven countries expected to generate more than one million tourist arrivals in Thailand in 2017. With the Japanese economy showing strong signs of recovering, TAT believes that the number of Japanese traveling abroad will soon be rising significantly. Thailand welcomed 1.4 million visitors from Japan in 2016, a 5% increase over 2015.
Speaking after participating in the opening ceremony of the Tourism Expo Japan 2017, TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn revealed that 77% of Japanese arrivals in Thailand were repeat visitors, while 23 percent were first-time visitors to the country.
In the proactive campaign to attract more Japanese tourists, TAT plans to change the image of Thailand in the Japanese market as a destination for females, youth, working groups, and first-time visitors, through the Japanese pop idol group "Nogizaka 46.” A workshop on targeting the female market will also be organized.
Mr. Yuthasak said that TAT is seeking to attract more middle to high-end visitors by targeting first-time visitors, as well as university students and newly working women. It is also expanding the activities and range of Thailand’s destinations of interest to repeat visitors.
From January to 20 September 2017, the number of Japanese tourists visiting Thailand was about 1.1 million, representing an increase of 5 percent over the same period of 2016.
By the end of 2017, the number of Japanese visitors is expected to reach 1.5 million, an increase of 5.86% over 2016. It would generate tourism income of around 65 billion baht for Thailand.
As for 2018, TAT has set a target for Japanese arrivals at about 1.56 million, an increase of 4%. The number is expected to bring in 70 billion baht in tourism income for Thailand, or an increase of 8%.