Tourism / Southern region tourism campaign

Chatrudee Theparat

Happiness travelling campaign will be launched this year to promote tourism in the three southern provinces.

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said Prime Minister Sreetha Thavisin has authorized the agency to boost tourism in the three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat as a new attempt to create an economic opportunity for local people in the provinces, to generate more income, considered as a significant tool to help solve security problem.

She said the three provinces have high potential in tourism because a variety of cultural tourism products with a plurality of Chinese, Buddhism and Islamic cultures. The agency aims to boost additional 20% of visitors to the provinces.

Somradee Chitchong

Somradee Chitchong, TAT’s deputy governor for domestic market, said happiness travelling in the three provinces based on four concepts of cultural pluralism, halal food, tourism plots in the local areas and tourism.

She said cultural pluralism is a strong point of the three provinces because the visitors can learn cultural diversity through food, tourism places and dress, while community tourism may need more time for its development.

TAT will implement five marketing projects this year including the first of “The Amazing Healing Powers of Deep South”, “Tiewnee Mee Rak @ Nara, Yala, Pattani”, exploring Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani.

After visiting three southern provinces of Mr Sreetha, TAT plans to talk to airlines in order to decrease ticket prices including Air Asia and Thai Airways International to promote tourist traffic.

The second is TAT will organise promotional campaigns to stimulate tourism in the second tier-tourism provinces and building network between main tourism province and the second tier-tourism provinces.

The campaign will be conducted via Lion air between March 15-June 15, 2024; Thai Air Asia between May 1-July 2024

The third is to launch a promotional campaign in “Amazing Thailand for three southern provinces ” to promote products from southern provinces. It will be in collaboration with state agencies to organise the consumer fair to bring products from those provinces to sell Thai and foreign visitors.

The fourth is a campaign to promote three provinces in “Thai Tourism Festival”, which will be held between March 28 and April 1, 2024 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, to show a uniqueness of southern provinces.

The fifth is a promotion after UNESCO announced Bangkok, Khon Kaen and Yala to become members of UNESCO Global Network of learning cities (GNLC), recognizing their efforts to promote lifelong learning.

However, Ms Somradee said infrastructure of the three provinces need to be improved to get more standard such as lodgings and also workforces to be trained more skillfully to help grow its tourism.

In 2024, TAT expects to see 950,398 trips in Narathiwat, up from 791,999 last year. Yala is expected to reach 1.98 million trips, up from 1.67 million last year, and Pattani with 530,858 trips, up from 442,382 last year.