AustCham Thailand, in collaboration with AMCHAM, BCCT, BeLuThai, CanCham, IrishThai, NTCC and SwissThai invites you to an exclusive Tourism Luncheon hosted by Stenden Thailand and Panyapiwat Institute of Management. The topic of the luncheon will be ‘The road to 30 million visitors, what’s next?’ with a well-respected tourism analyst,
John Koldowski (profile), Head of the Service Innovation & Development unit, College of Innovation, Thammasat University.
The rise in foreign visitors into Thailand has been one of the Kingdom’s great success stories over the last half century, culminating in (so far) close to 30 million foreign visitors in 2015. Driven by – amongst other things - a vibrant culture, unique foods, sandy beaches a tropical atmosphere and the inherent politeness and warmth of the Thai people. The Kingdom of Thailand had an early head-start in recognising international tourism as a key economic and social driver. That first-mover advantage has since been exhausted and the game-changer has been the adoption of a similar perspective about international tourism by competing destinations within Southeast Asia (and beyond). Competition is accelerating! Even so, on current indications, the momentum in foreign visitor growth is expected to continue to at least the end of this decade at which point Thailand could be welcoming close to 50 million foreign visitors annually.
Furthermore, the inequality of the foreign inbound distribution has become more apparent over the years wherein the bulk of the advantages driven by foreign tourism has mainly accrued to Bangkok (including Pattaya), Phuket and Chiang Mai. Many other areas within Thailand receive next to no stimulus from foreign visitors. The northern province of Nan for example, received more than 700,000 visitors into commercial accommodation in 2015, yet fewer than 20,000 of these were foreigners. With inbound volume largely continuing to grow strongly, the emphasis now needs to shift from predominately stimulating demand for the destination, to managing the seasonal flows and dispersion of those flows across the country as a whole.
Moreover, as we move into a very much service-based economy (visitor economy) our mindset needs to also move from what has been until now a largely ‘Goods Dominant Logic’ (GDL) to a ‘Service Dominant Logic (SDL).’ That in turn requires additional and better metrics to measure the real impact of these growing visitor flows. Service is one of the key differentiators left to us in a highly connected world. If successful in this regard, Thailand has the capacity to not only engage with more foreign visitors over the next few decades, but also to ensure that the distribution of the economic and social benefits of tourism are more widespread across the entire resident population, to the benefit of visitor and resident alike.
How did Thailand’s tourism sensation happen, and what can we expect in the next 10, 20, 30, or 40 years ahead? The question will be addressed at this very event. Come and join us at the modern and state of the art facilities at PIM, ASEAN’s first and largest corporate university with their work-based education approach and partners. PIM is, as of September 2016 partnering with Stenden University, The Netherlands.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday 23 November 2016
Time: 11.00 - 13.30 hrs.
Speaker: John Koldowski (profile), Head of the Service Innovation & Development unit, College of Innovation, Thammasat University
Topic: The road to 30 million visitors, what’s next?
Location: Panyapiwat Institute of Management, Chaengwattana Road (see map)
Price: 500 baht for all participants, including buffet lunch