‘Discover Thainess’ to generate more opportunities for Thai, Sri Lankan businesses
21 Jul 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Zahara Zuhair
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) organised a road show in Colombo recently with the aim of promoting trade, tourism and investments, to generate new business opportunities for Thai and Sri Lankan businesses.
Around 60 companies, which included travel agents, airlines, hotels, resorts and entertainment parks, participated in the event.
It was an opportunity to clinch deals as well as to develop further contacts as it was a great opportunity to interact with the suppliers face-to-face and help each other in expanding business.
The road show emphasised tourist attractions in Thailand such as Thai lifestyle, Thai culture, Thai food, Thai arts, Thai way of life, Thai wellness, Thai festivals, Thai wisdom and Thai boxing.
Thailand, formerly known as Siam, features Buddhist temples, exotic wildlife and splendid islands, along with a captivating history and a unique culture that includes detectable Thai food and massage.
The two countries have had close religious, cultural, political and trade relationships for over thousand years, which is commonly bound by Buddhism, which was further strengthened by the signing of a bilateral PTA agreement.
Talking at the event, Thailand Ambassador to Sri Lanka Nopporn Adchariyavanich said that through the event they expected to take more Thainess to the world, especially of shopping and eating.
“The quality of Thailand is second to none, the price is cheaper compared to other countries,” he said.
Speaking to Mirror Business, TAT ASEAN, South Asia and South Pacific Region Department Executive Director Amunay Thiamkeerakul said that they consider Sri Lanka as one of their important markets in South Asia.
“This is a great opportunity for Thailand to introduce their products here, we use this opportunity to make Sri Lankans know more about Thailand,” he said.
TAT Mumbai Office Director Soraya Homchuen told Mirror Business that the objective of the event was to get more business from Sri Lanka and to get more tourists to Thailand.
“Through this event we would like to have more travel agents, promote new destinations in Thailand and get more tourists from Sri Lanka to Thailand.”
“The Sri Lankan market is growing and people in Sri Lanka have more spending power. During school holidays most of the families go out of the country to spend their holiday. It’s a good target for Thailand. We have a lot of attractions, which are family-friendly. They can do activities and enjoy those attractions,” she said, with an expectation of attracting more families as tourists.
“We have cultural shows, Thai lifestyle theme parks, which showcase different architectural housing in Thailand. It has demonstrations like Thai cooking, handicrafts, umbrella painting, fruit and vegetable carving, those kinds of things. There are theme parks, which are more family fun, then there’s sea life ocean, Madam Tussauds, which are entertaining especially for kids.”
“Sri Lankan tourists to Thailand increased every year, except for a small drop last year as we had internal problems - the number of tourists decreased. The length of stay of Sri Lankan tourists in Thailand is around six days and spending on a trip is around Rs.35,000,” she said while noting that there are a lot of repeat visitors from Sri Lanka to Thailand.
In 2012, 73,249 Sri Lankans visited Thailand and it rose up to 76,484 in 2013 but there was a slight drop in 2014 - it amounted only to 74,714.
Further, she said they offer activities such as water sport activities, boat trips, train trips, scuba diving, elephant rides, visiting local villages in the bicycle, golf, safari, animal shows, etc.
Moreover, it has attractions such as restaurants, shopping, nightlife, street food, parks, visit to historical sites and spa treatment for ladies.
“And there are a lot of temples for people who like to go on pilgrimage to pay respect to the sacred,” she added.
“Thailand is famous for weddings for Indian couples. Last year we had around 200 Indian couples.” Homchuen noted it as a high potential segment, which is still not popular among Sri Lankans.
Further, it was noted that for accommodation luxury hotels as well as budget hotels for budget travellers are available and transportation wise convenient transport such as meter taxi and public transport are provided.
Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and SriLankan Airlines fly to Thailand, three times, five times and 14 times, respectively, in total 22 flights fly to Bangkok per week.
Thai Airways will be adding two extra flights during the month of August, to cater to the visitors during the holiday season more effectively. Currently they operate 330 aircrafts, as they are hoping to operate flights daily in the near future which is still in plan said an official of Thai Airways to Mirror Business.
The road show also showcased cultural dances presented by dance troops, which was much entertaining.
