The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) this week opened an office in Toronto, its third address in North America after New York and Los Angeles, and 28th overseas.
Kalin Sarasin, chairman of the TAT board, said: “We chose Toronto, the capital city of Ontario, because it is a vibrant, multi-cultural city and one of the largest metropolitan areas in North America. We believe it will be a perfect location to cover Canada, which has been identified in our current marketing plan as a high potential market with a long average length of stay and strong purchasing power.”
Moreover, Ontario was the largest source of Canadian travellers to Thailand in 2017, with a market share of 45 per cent.
In 2016, the average length of stay for the Canadian travellers in Thailand was approximately 18 days – double the average length of stay of the overall market – with daily expenditure of around 172 CAD (US$134) per person.
And from 2013 to 2017, revenue from the Canadian market rose six per cent on average in five years.
Elaborating on TAT’s efforts in Canda, Kalin said: “We are working with local partners to develop new products and introduce new local experiences in Thailand that fit with the targeted segments including the Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. They (show strong) interest in beach, culture, health and wellness, weddings and honeymoons, and our gastronomical delights.”
In conjunction with the launch of its Toronto office, TAT also launched the Amazing Thailand’s Open to the New Shades campaign in Canada. Tanes Petsuwan, TAT deputy governor for marketing communications, gave a 4D presentation of the campaign, highlighting five categories of products: gastronomy, nature and beach, culture, way of life, as well as art and craft.
In 2017, Canadian visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 258,392, up by 5.52 per cent over 2016. This contributed to income of 845.9 million CAD, representing a 7.6 per cent growth.
At the end of this year, TAT projects revenue growth of 8.46 per cent from the Canada market.
