Domestic tourism revenue sags

Festive events and new stimulus campaigns should push domestic tourism revenue to 950-970 billion baht this year, missing the target of 1 trillion baht because of a sluggish economy and the impact of flooding, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
Nithee Seeprae, deputy governor of marketing communications at TAT, said the agency is driving promotions to generate at least 200 billion baht in revenue from 30 million domestic trips during the final three months of the year.
The Thailand Winter Festival combines several events, such as the Loy Krathong festival, Bun Bang Fai (the rocket festival), Vijitr light show, and marathons.
For the first nine months of the year, domestic tourism generated 768 billion baht in revenue from more than 207 million trips.
Mr Nithee said negative sentiment from flooding in the North and high household debt levels would continue to impact domestic spending to some extent, as some tourism attractions remain damaged by floods.
The agency categorised the flooding impact into three levels: those who can resume their services, groups that require renovation, and operators who must permanently close their businesses.
TAT also launched the “72 journeys, 72 styles” online guidebook to promote new routes and invite top influencers to visit, encouraging their followers to travel.
He said this campaign should help extend Thai tourists’ length of stay from 2.5 days to 3 days, raising their average spending from 3,000 baht to 3,500-4,000 baht per trip.
TAT expects this campaign to reach at least 30 million local travellers.
To capture movie and mascot marketing trends, the agency launched five routes to explore for those who want to visit the famous pygmy hippo “Moo Deng” by driving from five regions, as well as promoting a filming location of the top-grossing Thai horror film Tee Yod 2 in Uttaradit.
Next year, the government aims to earn 3.4 trillion baht in tourism revenue from 40 million foreign tourists and 205 million domestic trips.
Mr Nithee said domestic tourism in 2025 will use the same marketing tagline, Instant Happiness in Thailand, while international tourism will also rehash: Amazing Thailand, Your Stories Never End.
He said the agency hopes to collaborate more with global media and influencers to promote Thailand as a preferred destination.
As the government works to lift the economy and consumer confidence, domestic tourism should revive, but international markets might still be affected by geopolitical risks, said Mr Nithee.
“The agency is monitoring competitors’ marketing plans,” he said.
“We believe Thailand can still gain a lot of attention thanks to our diverse products and Thai hospitality.”