The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has released a luxury vacation package for wealthy South Koreans named “Amazing New Chapters: Discover Luxperience in Thailand.”
The package includes round-trip business class airfare on Asiana Airlines and a five-night stay at the luxurious Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok for around 12,000 baht.
The TAT’s marketing effort aims to attract high-spending visitors, those who plan to stay for an extended period, honeymooners, couples, millennials, and families to Thailand.
Five-star hotels, premium rooftop bars, Michelin-starred restaurants, cruises, expensive vehicle rentals, private boats, and helicopter tours are part of the Discover Luxperience initiative, which is part of the TAT’s more extensive campaign Visit Thailand Year 2022-23: Amazing New Chapters.
When asked about this, Jiranee Poonnayom, director of TAT’s Seoul office, responded…
The goal of this new program is to attract high-spending visitors from South Korea who are interested in sampling the latest and greatest in high-end tourist offerings around the country of Thailand.
South Koreans traveling to Thailand often visit such cities as Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. Samui, Krabi, Hua Hin, and Chiang Rai are also being promoted by the TAT headquarters in Seoul.
Nearly 400 thousand South Koreans landed in Thailand between January and November of 2022. The TAT predicts that by year’s end, the figure will have risen over the 500,000 mark.
Over 70% of the expected 1.88 million South Korean visitors to Thailand in 2019 will arrive from South Korea. Hence the TAT is planning on welcoming more than 1.3 million visitors from South Korea.
By luring in high-spending visitors, the TAT anticipates a rise in income. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, minister of tourism, has said that the government should aim to attract “high-end travelers rather than a vast number of tourists.”
However, South Korea appears to be okay with luring Thai visitors. As a result of the large number of “tourists” from Thailand who fly to Korea but never return (“Little Ghosts”), immigration laws in South Korea are very severe.
In August, South Korea refused entrance to 110 Thais on a single trip, detaining several for four days before sending them home.
A month later, well-known Thai rapper “Milli” was refused admission to South Korea, forcing her to postpone her show there.
