Thailand is to launch tourism initiatives under a new slogan "Unforgettable Thailand" and with a target of encouraging tourists to spend more money on its soil, as revealed Monday by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in its new marketing strategies for next year.

According to a briefing released by TAT, a new advertising and PR campaign will be launched soon and "focus on delivering an unforgettable experience to visitors," said TAT Governor Mrs Juthamas Siriwan during the TAT annual marketing meeting for 2007 held in Bangkok between August 15-19.

"In a major departure from previous policy, targets will now be revenue-based designed to achieve a revenue target rather than an arrivals target," she said.

Marketing activities by the head office and branch offices will be geared towards stimulating consumers to spend more money in Thailand, with each overseas office and domestic region having a certain revenue target to meet.

This may include more aggressive promotion of shopping, for example through joint promotions with major retail and shopping complexes, more emphasis on Thailand being a hub for wellness and spas and other revenue-generating activities.

TAT noted that overall arrivals are doing well with strong growth in the first half of 2006, indicating that the impact of the December 2004 tsunami is long over. However, arrivals from ASEAN markets like Malaysia and Singapore did show some signs of being impacted by Thailand's prolonged political stalemate.

Asia continues to command the biggest market share with about 58 percent of total arrivals in the first quarter of 2006, followed by Europe (23 percent). The top ten generators of arrivals are Malaysia, Japan, Korean, Singapore, China's mainland, Britain, the United States, China's Hong Kong, Germany and Australia.

The domestic tourism market has slowed down significantly due to the high oil prices and domestic political situation, TAT said. The World Cup competition also had an impact. Average daily expenditure has been affected. To promote the domestic market, new tourism products and facilities like tourist attractions in military camps are to be featured.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2006)