Dual tourism fair next week

The dual fair will take place at Impact Muang Thong Thani from June 3-7. The first event is the Thailand Tourism Fair, which is aimed at encouraging domestic tourism, and the second is the Thailand Travel Mart, targeting inbound tourism.

TAT's deputy governor for domestic marketing, Wansadet Thavornsuk, said the Thailand Tourism Fair is expected to boost local travel in the second half of the year, reviving the prospects of operators that have been badly hit by the tourism slump.

About 350 of the booths have already been booked. However, the fair is not focusing on price-cutting, but at showcasing new tourism products and activities such as motor homes, eco-tourism and cultural events.

TAT's deputy governor for international marketing, Santichai Euachongprasit, said the Thailand Travel Mart would bring 360 sellers from 51 countries to meet with 440 buyers from Thailand.

Eighty-one of the buyers are from Asean, so there are high hopes of reclaiming lost tourism from neighbouring countries in the coming months.

The TAT expects the country to have 13.3 million-13.5 million arrivals this year, lower than the original target of 14.8 million.

The agency also forecasts that tourism revenue will reach Bt500 billion this year.