Members of the private and public sectors over this week proposed four initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of Thailand tourism.
The first is to strengthen branding and the positioning of Thai tourism both overseas and domestically. The second pro?posal is to enhance the imple?mentation and enforcement of government policies and incen?tives. The third suggestion is a move to sustainable develop?ment, and the last is to improve the quality of services and human-resource development.
Seri Wangpaichit, dean of Rangsit University's Tourism and Hospitality Faculty and for?mer governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), who compiled the conclusions of the working group as "Preferred Destination for Tourism and High-Value-Added Services", said the ini?tiatives would help authorities and operators see the future of tourism clearly. The proposals would also help them outline their plans to deal with changes in the sector.
Of the four proposals, the panel most wanted to see the efficient implementation and enforcement of government policies along with the devel?opment of tourism products and services as well as human resources. As for focusing on positioning the country in the tourism market, they noted that it is already listed internation?ally as a favourite destination.
According to Seri's summa?ry, at least 10 official bodies are urged to help develop the tourism sector, including TAT, the National Economic and Social Development Board, the National Tourism Committee, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Ministry of Transport, local administration organisations and educational bodies.
Each of the bodies is needed to develop and focus on areas for which they are responsible. For instance, TAT is needed to help strengthen the branding of Thailand in overseas and domestic markets, while the Education Ministry is urged to improve the quality of the tourism-industry workforce.
To help develop the country's tourism, operators such as trav?el agencies, airlines and related businesses are also urged to assist in promoting tourism and to exchange knowledge and improve training standards.
One of operators said that if the country wanted to raise its competitiveness, it should have one consolidated national aim so every party is headed in the same direction.
Tourism was one of the key issues at a three-day "Thailand Competitiveness Conference 2010", as the industry has sus?tained great damage from polit?ical uncertainty over the past years.
Representatives of the pri?vate sector suggested that offi?cials create new promotions with specific targets rather than the country as a whole.
Both private- and public-sector members expressed con?fusion about how to work with key tourism bodies, saying they should define their roles and activities clearly.
They suggested that local administrations join "owner?ship campaigns" with local resources to preserve the envi?ronment so they are able to pro?mote attractions in a coming age of green tourism.
Education institutions could create and develop curricula to attract students interested in the tourism industry, they said.