A short-term recovery plan has been put forward by the UK and Ireland office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand following last month’s military coup.
Seventeen agents and operators will be invited on a Thai Airways fam trip next month together with eight trade and consumer press. They will visit Bangkok, Kanchanaburi and Hua Hin.
“TAT’s global aim is to bring over 1,000 guests to Thailand to see the situation for themselves in Bangkok and nationwide,” a spokeswoman said.
Three key operators are being selected for joint marketing campaigns to boost summer bookings.
Etihad Airways and Eithad Holidays will also launch a marketing push focused on the country next month.
A national UK radio campaign is planned to boost consumer confidence and promote the message that Thailand is open for business as usual.
The planned promotional activity came as TAT released latest visitor figures showing a 14.9% rise in UK arrivals to 66,251 in May despite the coup and curfew, which has now been lifted, but a 0.2% decline from Ireland to 3,928.
Tourist numbers from the UK rose by 7.2% to 407,699 in January to May while those from Ireland were up by 9.44% to 24,825 over the same period last year.
“This is very encouraging, however, our hard work must continue to ensure that forward bookings are not affected and to maintain increased visitor arrivals throughout the summer months,” the TAT spokeswoman said.