THA vice president for marketing, Surapol Techaruwichit, said the association is preparing its first exchange road-show project, in which buyers from the two countries will be brought to Thailand as a pilot scheme.

"We hope we can bring many buyers from abroad to join events here in Bangkok, where they can meet local travel and hotel operators for further talks," Surapon said.

Surapon said the exchange road-show project is one of the association's proactive strategies to find new markets, and draw more international tourists into Thailand. Thai hotels and travel buyers will have a chance to join travel fairs in partner countries.

The association is also working more closely with neighbouring countries, including Malaysia and China, to plan future events.

Surapol said the THA also plans to hold road-shows in four main regions this year: South Asia and Oceania, Europe and the Middle East, the Americas and East Asia.

Thailand is aiming to attract 14.8 million international tourists this year to generate revenue of Bt577 billion.

The THA also plans to conduct two projects in the domestic market this year. The first, "Hotel Meet Local Agent", aims to attract agents dealing with emerging markets such as Russia, the Middle East and South Korea. Hotels and travel agents will offer promotions and packages for sale in the targeted markets.

The second is "Hotel Meet Local Corporate", aiming to attract big Thai companies. The association and tour companies will seek to attract business travellers as well as promoting the meeting, incentive, convention and event (MICE) trade.

Thai Travel Agents' Association president Anake Srishevachart said overseas travel from the country will grow by 10 per cent this year. The total number of outbound tourists is expected to grow from 3.3 million last year to 3.6 million this year.

"China is becoming the most popular destination for Thai tourists, followed by Singapore and Hong Kong," Anake said.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation