EIGHT hotels along the Chao Phraya River have come together to promote the riverside within Bangkok, and will launch a campaign and other marketing activities.
The members of the Bangkok Riverside Marketing Partnership as stated in a media release are Anantara Bangkok Riverside & Spa, Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Millennium Hilton Bangkok, The Peninsula Bangkok, Ramada Plaza Bangkok Menam Riverside, Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers, and Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok.
Bangkok Riverside Marketing Partnership aims to strengthen the positioning of the Chao Phraya Riverside as a sub-destination in Bangkok; further promote the riverside for leisure and MICE markets; enhance awareness among tourism stakeholders of the partnership; and complement ongoing tourism recovery activities by local authorities.
The body will implement a range of activities such as a campaign for better positioning, training for MICE sales staff and CSR initiatives.
Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily, a spokesperson for the partnership said: “The original idea (for the partnership) goes back to 1986 and was executed between The Oriental, the Shangri-La and the Royal Orchid, and resulted in an European, Australian and American incentive travel ‘boom’ for all three hotels in 1988-89.”
He noted that a second attempt in 2004 failed due to claims of exclusivity by one tour operator.
Asked why it was necessary for hotels to jointly promote the riverside destination specifically, the same spokesperson said: “The key for success for hotels in the leisure and MICE markets has always been ‘Destination First’, and the riverside destination within Bangkok is clearly a unique selling point.
“It is also an effort by those eight hotels to enhance the various recovery programmes by Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency and Tourism Authority of Thailand, and highlights the positives of Bangkok.”
