E-market place launched to promote Thai Tourism

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) today launched its e-commerce web site project to help tourism industry sellers develop and expand direct business-to-business contacts with global buyers.

Developed by a leading Thai Internet company, MWeb (Thailand), the web site www.tourismemarketplace.com  is designed to boost the competitive edge of Thai tourism by opening up vast opportunities for Thai sellers to expand their customer base at minimal cost.

The project was unveiled at a press conference chaired by TAT Governor Mrs. Juthamas Siriwan and attended by senior TAT officials and representatives of MWeb.

Mrs. Juthamas commented, "We have designed the e-marketplace project to help the entire Thai tourism industry, and especially small- and medium-sized companies, efficiently and cost-effectively identify new contacts, and attract new business."

The web site will be divided into two sections - 
1) General Home and 
2) Member Home

The General Home section features background information including objectives of the project, membership application and conditions, expected benefits, information on Thai tourism, average temperature of major destinations, instructions on how to use the web site and frequently asked questions (FAQs).

The more detailed Member Home section is divided into the following two categories:

Useful information on the travel trade including an Events Calendar that will allow Thai sellers to keep abreast of information on upcoming trade fairs and shows as well as TAT-sponsored events; get free subscription for news and analysis both directly from TAT and other companies; access on-line foreign exchange rates and converters; and request on-line assistance.

Business development tools including online bidding, search engine for local agencies by name, province and attraction, overseas companies by continent and country, web board for online negotiation, a message centre for users to keep track of their negotiations and transactions as well as editable package lists. 

Both buyers and sellers will need to register to be listed in the web site's database. They will need to meet a set criteria to qualify for membership.

Local tour operators will need to present their business registration certificate and tourism business license issued by TAT while overseas travel agents must present a legal tourism and trade certificate issued by relevant agencies of their respective countries.