Because the EU’s economic problems are not thought to affect Germany as much as some other European nations, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is attempting to lure high-spending German vacationers to the country.
Even though some of Europe is experiencing a financial slowdown, and Brexit has made the short-term financial future of the UK uncertain, the TAT still believes that 68 percent of monied Europeans will continue to travel abroad. They hope that many will choose Thailand as their destination
Thailand’s largest populations of European tourists hail from Russia, the UK and Germany. Of those three, Germany is the country with the strongest economy right now, according to Bangkok Post.
However, tourism income from Germany into Thailand has been slowing as well. The TAT’s new strategy is not to get more Germans to visit the country but only the ones who will spend more per person.
The TAT hopes that vacation spending by Germans will increase by 7.9 percent to THB56.9 billion this year despite the number of Germans visiting Thailand being expected to increase by only 3.1 percent.
Governor of the TAT, Yuthasak Supasorn, believes that attracting high-spending German tourists can help Thailand to achieve its tourism revenue target of THB2.84 trillion for 2016.
Of that number, THB1.89 trillion is expected to be spent by foreigners while THB950 billion should come from Thai tourists. The number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand is expected to hit 34 million this year.
Denduen Luengcheng, TAT’s Frankfurt director, revealed that the authority has launched hard-hitting campaigns in order to penetrate the market of rich German travelers.
They are partnering with travel agents to create luxurious, expensive tour packages designed to please German sensibilities.
In Germany, custom tour packages are hot news. Travelers with money want packages where they get to pick every detail but without the need to arrange everything themselves.
The TAT hopes to encourage not only high-spending from wealthy German tourists, but also first-time visits from German university students and young workers since research shows that 80 percent of German that visit once will return.
The TAT noted that German tourists stay an average of 17 days in the country and that tour operators looking to attract them should incorporate interesting and trendy options such as yoga and beauty treatments.
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