Tourism bodies are urging international organisations to lend a hand in rebuilding the Kingdom's image so tourists can be brought back to the country.
Officials of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and PacificAsia Travel Association (PATA) met with the private sector yesterday to listen to grievances about the lack of tourists and devise ways for Thailand and tourism bodies overseas to cooperate.
Apichart Sankary, honorary adviser to the Federation of Thai Tourism Association, said operators were so desperate for customers that they were cutting down prices and offering cheap packages.
Piyaman Techapiboon, vice chairman of the Tourism Council of Thailand, agreed that further cooperation between Thai operators and international organisations was needed.
According to UNWTO secretary general, Taleb Rifai, Thai tourism operators should seek more marketing tools and develop new products to bring back tourists. He urged the operators to approach new emerging markets, but not leave traditional markets like Europe alone.
Gregory Duffell, CEO of PATA, said China would become a huge market in terms of the number of travellers, while Asian nations like Vietnam would also grow significantly. He said Thai operators should not reduce their prices, but attract customers by using new marketing tools instead.