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PM asks TAT for a game plan 
PM asks TAT for a game plan
Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abisit
Vejjajiva, told travel agents, yesterday, the Tourism Authority of
Thailand has two weeks to present a revised marketing and public
relations strategy.
He assured travel agents the government would
not neglect the industry and was prepared to ease rules to allow more
companies to apply for low-interest loans.
Speaking to 1,000
representatives from the travel industry, gathered at the Dusit Thani
Hotel, the Prime Minister said he had ordered the Tourism Authority of
Thailand to present a revised marketing and public relations strategy
within two weeks to stimulate recovery in the fourth quarter.
No.1
InsideYesterday’s event was organised by the Federation of Thai Travel
Associations, which has challenged the government to reveal a concrete
plan to revive tourism and assist travel related companies.
“In
the circumstances, we may not be able to spend billions on advertising
projects,â Mr Abisit told the audience. “But we should be looking at
specific channels such as local media in specific overseas markets that
can help us target growth.
“We also need to co-operate with
overseas governments, or overseas airline alliances, to sign MoUs to
jointly improve tourist arrivals.â
Mr Abisit said the country
should be able to “attract at least 11 million arrivals, based on the
report from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, which showed 5.6 million
arrivals in the first five months of this year.â
He believes the
second half of the year will perform better, a view reflected by
private sector associations that claim the last quarter could see
substantial gains.
The TAT had earlier estimated 2009 could
generate 14 million arrivals.
“The government will not overlook
the travel industry’s problem and will follow up all policies and
measures that have been set out with reference to tourism,â the Prime
Minister promised.
He also acknowledged that rules for applying
for a SME loan may need to be eased dramatically to allow more companies
to benefit.
“We have discussed with the Minister of Finance,
Kobsak Sapavasu, and financial institutions to relax rules for tourism
related companies, especially for those that have been running into
difficulties since the airports closed last year.â
He reported
that around 3,000 companies applied for a special Bt5 million loan. So
far, financial institutions has accepted 1,700 applications and approved
loans for 1,000 applications, while 300 companies have already taken
the loan.
“We cannot count on a miracle that the economy will
just suddenly revive, but the government will support tour operators in
every way, to make sure they are competitive and ready to act when the
global economy revives.â
Executives attending the event were
members of Fetta which represents eight travel associations: Association
of Thai Travel Agents; Thai Hotels Association; Thai Travel Agents
Association; Association of Domestic Travel; Thai Ecotourism and
Adventure Travel Association; Thai Transport Operators Association;
Thai-Japan Tourist Association; and Thai Chinese Tourism Alliance.Source: http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2009/08/pm-asks-tat-for-a-game-plan/
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