Inbound Thai tourism is booming. What is not commonly known is that so is Thai outbound travel. Thanks to a rising middle class, strong spending power and intense marketing by airlines, hotel groups, credit card companies, the number of Thai outbound travellers is expected to cross 10 million this year.
Ease of accessibility will become a major determinant of future destination choice. Japan, which eliminated visas for Thais in 2013, has become the fastest growing destination for Thai travellers. Korea and Taiwan have followed the Japanese lead, and Russia is next.
All are stepping up marketing and promotional campaigns to narrow the significant gaps between the number of their tourists visiting Thailand and the number of Thais visiting their countries.
Although most Thais know that they can get visa-free access to their neighbours in the ASEAN countries as well as the Northeast Asian countries and destinations, they still do not realise that they can get relatively easy access to several countries in both Latin America and Africa, the report says.
The report urges these countries on both distant continents to put more focus on their marketing profiles. It is rife with trends, ideas, contacts and opportunities on how to do so.
The report also blasts the visa application processes for Europe, the UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand…
