THAI GOVERNMENT UNDERSCORES STRONG SUPPORT FOR TOURISM

Thailand’s seniormost minister in charge of tourism says a new marketing-driven strategy is being put into place to make the country one of the world’s top five tourism destinations in the not too distant future.

In a keynote speech to a gathering of 106 specially invited foreign journalists, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Somkid Jatusripitak made clear that tourism and foreign investment are going to be the most critical areas to be promoted by the Thai government in its effort to bring the economy back to speed.

He said both would be part of the economic reform programme that would now be based on a new “quality-oriented growth strategy that will replace the outdated and non-sustainable quantity- oriented growth strategy of the past.”

Mr Somkid, who oversees the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), was speaking on November 13, 2001, to journalists from countries in East Asia, Australia and New Zealand at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The Conference, organised by TAT, was part of the “Thailand -- By Invitation of the Royal Thai Government” project held between November 12-18, 2001.

Participating journalists attended a number of briefing sessions and conducted interviews with leading government officials and business people. They also visited various places featuring Thai culture, arts and lifestyle and toured popular destinations nationwide.

The objective is to present Thailand as a peaceful and friendly tourism destination well worth visiting for a holiday, business, convention or exhibition.

Mr. Somkid said the new tourism promotion strategy would “intelligently integrate Thailand’s rich natural resources with its traditional local skills and appropriate marketing strategies to decisively upgrade the country’s tourism industry to a world-class level.”

He said, “To achieve this goal, the strategy prescribes a complete roadmap for the construction of Thailand's tourism platform that comprehensively coordinates all components required to promote and sustain high-quality tourism.” He said making Thailand one of the world’s top five tourist destinations “may be a highly ambitious goal given the intense global competition, but I am confident that Thailand has the potential.

“To achieve our ambitious goal, government-sponsored workshops have been conducted to prepare the groundwork for the new marketing-driven strategy,” said Mr. Somkid.

By the same token, he said, the Thai government is committed to promote productive foreign investment and partnerships in both the private and public sectors. “Our goal is to ensure that Thailand is an investors' preferred choice in investment.”

“I personally believe that Thailand has great potential to be counted among the top three preferred places for setting up regional headquarters for global businesses. Furthermore, due to our strategic location, Thailand can uniquely serve as the commercial hub for South East Asia linking China, and the World.”

He said the three fundamental features which underscore Thailand's potential as a highly desirable destiny for foreign investment are 1) its open market economy that welcomes foreign participation; 2) its political stability and firm commitment to democratic principles; and 3) a quality local workforce that is traditionally endowed with creativity and high-quality workmanship.