This is to help the TAT meet a target of 12 million visitors this year, a 24 per cent increase over last year. It had been pushed off course by bird flu fears over the last couple of weeks. Travel agents reported an average 30 per cent cancellation rate on tours booked by Chinese tourists, while cancellations from South Korea, Japan and Taiwan saw a 10 per cent drop.
"The budget is not just to fight bird flu," said Tanes Petsuwan, director of the TAT's public relations department. "We will fight it, of course, but we also need the budget to reach new target groups."
Three groups have been identified - incentive travel, student tours and golfers/ other high-end groups. By targeting the last, the authority is also hoping to increase the current 3,800 baht per head daily spend to 4,000 baht.
TAT plans to work even more closely with travel agents to reach these groups as part of a new strategy to emphasise below-the-line activities.
Some 70 per cent of its marketing budget will now be directed below-the-line compared to 50 per cent previously. "We will not spend as much on advertising because it is more difficult to evaluate its success," Tanes said.
Much of the activity will be targeted at Europe, and neighboring Asian countries including Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, he said.
"Our main activity will be a media education trip, and we will invite the press from our main markets to come to Thailand," said Tanes.
A total of 500 members of the international press will be invited to the country, half the number invited during the Sars crisis.